College sports has a fan control problem

'Sorry we put your team in danger. Here's a $250,000 check.'

Welcome to Club Sportico! Eben leads off this week…

On Saturday evening, shortly after his Razorbacks upset No. 4 Tennessee at home, Arkansas football coach Sam Pittman was asked about the thousands of fans storming the field around him. His response confused many watching. 

"The [athletic director] is probably going to be pissed," Pittman yelled. "Or maybe he won't be. I don't know. And right now, I don't care!" 

He was referring to the fine that he knew was coming from the SEC, which last year upped the punishment for schools whose football or basketball fans dangerously flood the field of play¹. Arkansas was fined $100,000 last November following a basketball upset, and this week was fined $250,000 as a repeat offender. Absurdly, the money will be paid to its opponent. Sorry we put your students in danger. Here’s a big check.  

I have a feeling Pittman knew the answer to his own inquiry, but just in case, a CBS Sports reporter tracked down the Arkansas AD as he too stormed the field. Was he happy to pay the fine? "Hell yeah!" he responded.

I'm not an expert in punishment, but if the response from repeat offenders is "Hell yeah!" and "I don't care!," your penalty probably isn’t working.

A few hours earlier and one state over, Vanderbilt fans flooded onto the field after upsetting No. 1 Alabama. They broke off one of the goalposts, carried it nearly three miles (!) and dumped it into the Cumberland River². The school later retrieved it, chopped it up, and sold the pieces as collectibles for fans. By Monday afternoon, the auction had already raised more than $200,000, double the school’s $100,000 fine from the SEC as a first-time offender.  

College football (and basketball) has to decide how it feels about fans rushing the field. Either it's a danger to athletes, particularly visiting ones, or it's 'aw shucks look at these crazy kids.’ If it's the former, you shouldn't have the head coach joking about it on national television, and you shouldn't be creating memorabilia from the vandalism. If it's the latter, Arkansas shouldn't owe Tennessee a quarter million dollars.

This middle ground isn’t working. Leadership at the richest college conference has accepted that fans on the field pose a serious danger, except when their football team beats a rival. It’s a hypocrisy that’s familiar for those that follow college sports, where university leaders will often say one thing, then do the exact opposite.   

Maybe I sound like a hater—literally, get off my lawn—but it's not hard to see the potential harm. In February, Duke basketball star Kyle Filipowski sprained his ankle when he was caught in a rush of celebratory Wake Forest fans. A month earlier, the country's most famous college athlete was knocked to the ground by an Ohio State fan filming herself storming the court. Students have been hospitalized by falling goalposts.

Schools like Arkansas and Vanderbilt can take steps to prevent kids from rushing the field, they just choose not to. Vanderbilt didn’t even have the collapsible goalposts that have become common at many schools. My guess is that the actual protective measures cost a lot more than the potential fine incurred during a rare upset, and that’s very telling.

But don't just take it from me. Kansas State AD Gene Taylor told my colleague Eric Jackson earlier this year that "obviously, the fines aren't helping."

So what’s a school to do? Taylor’s basketball team has found some elegant solutions. Kansas State beefed up security to protect the court, and built a natural barrier of seats between the players and the student section. Head coach Jerome Tang will spend time late in games reminding Wildcats fans not to rush the court if it’s trending that direction, and if they win, he and his team go into the student section to celebrate there.

That’s video ☝️ of the process in action after the Wildcats beat No. 4 Kansas in February. Tang is in the white shirt. The fans look just as happy as ones that storm the field, and everyone is a whole lot safer. Hell yeah!  

tl;dr:

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Now turning it over to Jacob for his Pick Six, including some poorly placed advertising, inspirational hockey content, and a bit of a football mystery.

Story of the Week 🏈: Why are NFL kickers suddenly better than ever, particularly from long distance? Lev Akabas explored the possible explanations, ranging from mud to smartphones.

Story of the Week (Non-Sportico Division) 👴🏻: The flip side of college kids causing mayhem after upset victories? How about Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy visiting a Stillwater retirement community every week. This story convinced me that DGAF old folks ask better questions than 90% of reporters.