The state trooper brought in to accompany ISU head football coach Dan McCarney during games will not represent much of a change in security procedures from previous years, athletic department officials said.

Iowa State Patrol Lt. Frank Metzger of Mason City has stood on the sidelines with McCarney through two games this season. Previously, the ISU Department of Public Safety handled McCarney’s security during games.

The Des Moines Register reported Sept. 11 that ISU athletic director Bruce Van De Velde was dubious about the need for security for McCarney and the trooper’s $5,000 price tag.

McCarney and Van De Velde said this week, though, that the arrangement is not a significant change from years past.

“I’ve had this for 10 years,” McCarney said of the personal security detail. “I don’t know any college football coach that doesn’t. It’s nothing new.”

For the last nine years, McCarney said, the position of sideline patrol — that is, protecting McCarney — had been the duty of the DPS police division, now called ISU Police. The officer in charge of the detail had traveled with the team.

Before that, sheriff’s deputies provided protection for football coaches, during both home and away games.

“Every head coach in the country has to have security,” McCarney said. “I didn’t ask for anything different. It’s the exact same as it was before.”

The prices the athletic department pays for the services, however, has changed. Instead of the $4,000 charged by DPS, Metzger will cost the department $5,000 per year.

The reason for the change in protectors, DPS officials said, was the departure of the officer who formerly had the job. Lt. Isra Harahap, who held the job until last year, left to pursue a career at a federal agency.

DPS Capt. Robert Bowers said that the department had been searching for a replacement for Harahap, but the athletic department had opted to go with the State Patrol.

Bowers said he thought the decision to go with a state trooper had little to do with the conduct or performance of Harahap.

“I don’t believe in any way that this was done because of any problems or issues with the officer,” he said.

This sentiment was echoed by athletic director Bruce Van De Velde, who said Harahap had performed his duties well. However, Van De Velde said, he hadn’t been aware that officials were searching for a replacement for Harahap.

Van De Velde also denied reports that he was unhappy over the price of the guard or that he questioned the need for the position.

The addition of the state trooper may prove beneficial to gameday security, Van De Velde said. The Iowa State Patrol currently runs traffic control around the stadium, and having a member of the state’s police force on the sideline may enhance communication.

It may also allow for better communication with other state patrols when the team goes on the road, he said.

“I think security at the games is especially important, when you look around the world at fan behavior,” he said. “We’ll continue to do what we’ve always done. We want fans and the players and coaching staff to feel they are in a safe environment.”

The Department of Public Safety, too, will reap some benefits from the change, Bowers said.

“We didn’t just cut the position,” he said.

“We reassigned the person. The bulk of gameday security is done by DPS, and we have more positions than we do people to fill them.”

Van De Velde said he couldn’t say whether the switch from ISU personnel to the Iowa State Patrol was permanent. The security detail changes “from year to year,” he said.