The Big 12 Conference has fined Arizona State University $25,000 for fans rushing the field near the conclusion of ASU’s victory over BYU Saturday, the conference announced Tuesday.
ASU fans stormed the field at Mountain America Stadium at the apparent end of the game against then-14th ranked Brigham Young. However, officials determined a fourth down throw out of bounds by ASU quarterback Sam Leavitt meant to run out the clock landed in the stands with one second remaining. That led to a 15-minute delay while fans were cleared from the field to allow BYU to run the final play, a Hail Mary pass that was ruled incomplete short of the end zone. ASU fans then rushed the field again.
“You know what?” ASU coach Kenny Dillingham said after the game. “We got to rush the field twice, how about that?”
The Big 12 Tuesday said in a brief statement it also “issued a public reprimand” of the school for the fan behavior. “The safety of student-athletes and all game participants is our foremost priority,” commissioner Brett Yormark said in the release. “We will continue to work with our institutions on event management policies at all Big 12 venues.”
Arizona State has plans in place to discourage fans from rushing the field that clearly didn’t work in Saturday’s contest. The school doesn’t play another home game in 2024, so it has until Aug. 30 to revise its procedures, when it hosts Northern Arizona to start the 2025 season. An Arizona State spokesperson declined to comment. A spokesman for BYU didn’t respond to requests for comment.
The fine by the Big 12 contrasts with much heftier fines levied by the SEC against Arkansas, South Carolina and Vanderbilt for their fans storming fields this season after victories over ranked opponents. Vanderbilt had to pay $100,000 as a first time offender when its fans celebrated its upset of then top-ranked Alabama, a celebration that included carrying one set of goalposts two miles and dropping them in the Cumberland River.
Both Arkansas and South Carolina paid $250,000 each as second-time offenders when their fans stormed the fields over upsets of highly ranked visitors. By comparison, the ACC didn’t fine Boston College after students flooded the field following a come-from-behind victory over Michigan State in September during its annual Red Bandanna game, honoring a 9/11 hero.
