Longhorns fined $250K, excuse rowdy fans

• Dave Wilson, ESPN Staff WriterOct 20, 2024, 01:10 PM ET Close Dave Wilson is a college football reporter. He previously operated at The Dallas Early Morning News, San Diego Union-Tribune and Las Vegas Sun.The Texas Longhorns

, after issuing an apology previously Sunday, were fined $250,000 by the Southeastern Conference for fans throwing trash onto the field after a questionable pass interference call during Saturday’s 30-15 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday night.The SEC stated the fine was for”disrupting the competitive opportunity for both teams and threatening contest individuals.”It also requires Texas to “utilize all readily available resources “– consisting of security, stadium and tv video– to determine those who threw trash onto the field or at the Bulldogs– and forbid them from participating in Texas athletics occasions for the remainder of the academic year.The SEC said it would not suspend alcohol sales benefits for Texas, but the conference reserves

the right to do so if requirements are not satisfied. “The throwing of debris and resulting interruption of play that occurred Saturday night can not be part of

any SEC event,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said. Texas coach Steve Sarkisianwalked all the way to the 10-yard line to inform fans to stop throwing items onto the field while staff members and security tidied up the particles. Sara Diggins/USA TODAY Network by means of Imagn Images

Earlier Sunday, Texas issued an apology to Georgia, the game authorities and to the SEC for the behavior of its fans.

“While we deeply value the enthusiasm and commitment of our fan base at The University of Texas at Austin, we do not excuse the unsportsmanlike conduct that was exhibited by some people tossing things onto the field during last night’s game and best regards apologize to the University of Georgia players, coaches, and fans, along with the Southeastern Conference and officiating team,” stated a statement from Texas Board of Regents chairman Kevin Eltife, UT president Jay Hartzell and athletic director Chris Del Conte.

“This kind of behavior will not be tolerated.”

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Tracking 23-8 in the third quarter, Texas security Jahdae Barron actioned in front of Georgia’s Arian Smith and obstructed a pass, returning it 36 lawns to the Georgia 9 and providing Texas brand-new life. Officials called pass interference on Barron, however, and the 15-yard penalty was significant off.Texas fans

booed the call while viewing multiple replays on the stadium’s videoboard, and trash began streaming down onto the field from near the trainee section, stopping play for a couple of minutes. While Texas coach Steve Sarkisian walked all the method to the 10-yard line to tell fans to stop, team member and security cleaned up the bottles as officials gave once again.

“I comprehend the aggravation,” Sarkisian said after the game. “We all were frustrated in the moment. However, you know … all of Longhorn Country, I know we can be better than that.”

The call was reversed after the stoppage, which raised concerns that the habits in fact assisted the Longhorns.

“Now we have actually set a precedent that if you throw a bunch of things on the field and endanger professional athletes that you’ve got a possibility to get your call reversed,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said after the game. “And that’s unfortunate since, to me, that’s dangerous. That’s not what we want, and that’s not criticizing officials. That’s what happened.”

In a statement early Sunday early morning, the SEC stated officials “collected to discuss the play, which is permitted to guarantee the appropriate charge is implemented.”

Early Sunday early morning, Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks stated in a post on X that he was “disappointed and frustrated” with how the call was reversed.

“Disagreeing with a particular call is natural and will take place a number of times in every football game. I can accept that,” Brooks stated in his post. “What I can not accept is the way in which this particular call was reversed. The main claimed he erred in the call. My question is when did he realize the mistake?

“If it was before the hold-up that took place due to fans throwing objects on the field, what stopped him before the head official made the statement and found the ball? I have faith we, as a conference, will learn from this and improve. We must, since in the SEC it just means more.”

The SEC said the handling of the charge was incorrect, but the response should have been avoided.

“While the original evaluation and evaluation of the penalty was not properly performed, it is undesirable to have debris thrown on the field at any time,” the league said.In 2021, the SEC fined the Volunteers $250,000 after fans threw items on the field in Lane Kiffin’s return versus Tennessee, where he had previously coached. Fans threw bottles, cans and other projectiles at the Ole Miss sideline, consisting of a golf ball that struck Kiffin. Tennessee had simply been stopped on fourth down after a questionable area by officials.The SEC said it will need Texas to examine its game management treatments and alcohol availability policies and offer a report to the league office on how it determined and punished offenders and its strategy to avoid future incidents.”We appreciate the assistance of Longhorn Nation and are positive that, progressing, we will continue to represent our university with pride and regard, “the declaration said.ESPN’s Mark Schlabach and The Associated Press contributed to this report.