Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham speaks to officials Saturday, as fans prematurely rush the field before the final play against BYU. ASU’s failure to manage crowd control resulted in a $25,000 fine from the Big 12 Conference. (Photo by Spencer Barnes/Cronkite News)
PHOENIX – The Big 12 Conference slapped Arizona State with a $25,000 fine Monday for failing to keep fans from storming the field Saturday at Mountain America Stadium with a second remaining in a chaotic 28-23 victory over BYU Saturday.
The Sun Devils might have gotten off cheap.
The SEC imposed a combined total of $300,000 on the Oklahoma Sooners and Auburn Tigers because of similar celebrations following their upset wins Saturday.
The Sooners were fined $100,000 for failing to keep their fans from rushing onto the field with 28 seconds still to play against Alabama. The field had to be cleared to finish the game, then the fans rushed on again – resulting in another $100,000 for violation of the SEC’s “access to competition area” policy. Auburn was fined $100,000 for the same offense when fans celebrated a victory over Texas A&M.
As at Oklahoma, the field had to be cleared at ASU to play the final second of the game, causing a 14-minute delay. BYU’s Hail Mary pass was ruled incomplete.
“We found out there’s still a play under review,” Arizona State athletic director Graham Rossini said on Arizona Sports’ the Bickley and Marotta Show Tuesday. “We got to be able to manage the crowd. I thought our team did the best job they could, given the situation, of helping everybody understand the situation, getting everybody off the field so we could finish the game and respect the competitive integrity of it.
“A lot going on … just wanted coach to be focusing on, ‘Hey, we’ll handle what the call was later. Let’s get this team ready to go, close this thing out and be able to celebrate.’”
In announcing the fine, Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said in a news release Tuesday that the safety of athletes is “our foremost priority.”
“We will continue to work with our institutions on event management policies at all Big 12 venues,” Yormark said.
Rossini emphasized the school’s respect for the decision and revealed that a donor had agreed to pay the $25,000.
“We had a donor step up to cover that fine, so we’re moving forward,” Rossini said. “But it’s a call to action for any Sun Devil who was on the field, you got a responsibility to your university, get on SunAngels.org, give to our collective and let’s use that as a positive.”
Arizona State is ranked No. 14 in the latest AP poll, up seven spots from the previous poll and its highest ranking since 2014. The Sun Devils will face the Arizona Wildcats on the road Saturday for the Territorial Cup in Tucson with a possible berth in the Big 12 Championship Game on the line.
While he might want them to remain in their seats next time ASU pulls a major home upset, Rossini said the Sun Devils football program is gaining momentum and attention, and he believes that ASU fans have contributed to the team’s sudden success.
“A lot of what we’re able to do now is a credit to our fans,” Rossini said. “When you have sell-out crowds, when you have new corporate partners coming on when you have donors stepping up to cover fines and make investments, those are the resources that allow us to retain great coaches, to prepare for the transfer portal, to get ready to really invest these outcomes that we’re starting to see that are possible here at ASU.”
