The Big 12 and the Southeastern Conference have issued fines to schools whose fans stormed the field after important victories on Saturday, some doing so before the game was even over.
Fans of 14th-ranked Arizona State thought their 28-23 win over No. 19 BYU was over and poured onto the field after a fourth-down pass by Sun Devils quarterback Sam Leavitt was thrown high and out of bounds. The play started with 7 seconds on the clock and officials rules there was 1 second remaining.
Clearing the field took 15 minutes before BYU tried a Hail Mary that fell incomplete, preserving the victory in arguably the biggest home game for Arizona State in a decade. The school was fined $25,000 and reprimanded by the conference.
“The safety of student-athletes and all game participants is our foremost priority,” Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said in a statement. “We will continue to work with our institutions on event management policies at all Big 12 venues.”
Oklahoma and Auburn were fined Sunday by the SEC after their fans ran onto the field, Sooners fans also prematurely when their team beat No. 7 Alabama 24-3. Fans of the Tigers waited much longer — until after Auburn’s 43-41 four-overtime win against No. 20 Texas A&M.
The SEC fined Auburn $100,00 for its first offense and Oklahoma $200,000 — $100,000 each for its first offense and for the fans getting on the playing surface with 28 seconds remaining.
Fans at Nebraska and California also stormed the field — Cornhuskers fans after a 44-25 victory against Wisconsin made them bowl eligible for the first time since 2016, and Bears fans after a 24-21 victory against Stanford in “The Big Game” also made them bowl eligible.
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The Associated Press