Texas Athletics will be fined $250K and some students may have their Big Ticket revoked for the remainder of the academic year after fans in the student section threw water bottles onto the field during Saturday’s 30-15 loss against Georgia.
Along with paying the fine and updating its game management procedures, Texas Athletics is required by the Southeastern Conference “to use all available resources, including security, stadium and television video, to identify individuals who threw objects onto the playing field or at the opposing team.”
“The throwing of debris and resulting interruption of play that took place Saturday night cannot be part of any SEC event,” said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey.
If Texas does not comply with the requirements, the SEC will suspend all alcohol sales privileges, as per the SEC Bylaws and Commissioner’s Regulations.
The SEC fine came after an official statement made by Board of Regents Chairman Kevin Eltife, UT President Jay Hartzell and Athletic Director Chris Del Conte earlier Sunday morning.
“While we deeply appreciate the passion and loyalty of our fan base at The University of Texas at Austin, we do not condone the unsportsmanlike conduct that was exhibited by some individuals throwing objects onto the field during last night’s game and sincerely apologize to the University of Georgia players, coaches and fans, as well as the Southeastern Conference and officiating crew,” the statement said.
Students began throwing bottles after a huge play by senior defensive back Jahdae Barron. Barron sparked hope with Texas fans when he intercepted a pass and took it nine yards from the goal line during the third quarter, at which point Texas trailed 23-8.
However, that hope was quickly squandered when officials called a defensive pass interference on Barron.
The crowd roared as they watched the replay on the screen, booing at a deafening level. Water bottles began to rain down from the student section onto the field. Putting his hands in the air, Sarkisian walked all the way to the 10 yard line to tell fans to stop.
“I was literally just asking the official what he saw to warrant DPI,” head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “And then at that moment, the trash came on the field.”
The debris only delayed the game by a few minutes due to the quick response of people on the sidelines, but the behavior still resulted in penalties imposed by the SEC.
“I understand frustration, we all were frustrated in the moment,” Sarkisian said. “(But) all of us Longhorn Nation, I know we can be better than that.”
While not nearly as extreme as Tennessee’s fan behavior in 2021, when 18 fans were arrested for throwing trash at Ole Miss’ sideline and delaying the game by 20 minutes, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said the fact that referees reversed the call might encourage similar behavior in the future.
“Now we’ve set a precedent that if you throw a bunch of stuff on the field and endanger athletes that you’ve got a chance to get your call reversed,” Smart said. “And that’s unfortunate because, to me, that’s dangerous. That’s not what we want, and that’s not criticizing officials. That’s what happened.”
The SEC’s strong stand against the fan’s behavior and Texas’ enforcement of the SEC regulations will discourage this behavior from happening at future games.
“We are committed to fostering a positive environment for all participants, teams, officials and fans, and we will take steps to ensure that this type of behavior does not happen again,” Texas’ statement said.
