Big 12 reprimands ASU for field storming, fines school $25K

Arizona State fans run on the field following a 28-23 win over BYU in a game Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Tempe, Ariz.

The Big 12 Conference has issued a public reprimand to Arizona State University and fined the school $25,000 for the field storming incidents that occurred during Saturday’s football game at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, against BYU.

Arizona State won the Big 12 contest 28-23 and will play at rival Arizona on Saturday with a berth in the Big 12 conference championship game on the line. BYU will host Houston on Saturday and must win and have either ASU or Iowa State lose to make it to the championship game Dec. 7 in Arlington, Texas.

“The safety of student-athletes and all game participants is our foremost priority,” Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said in a statement released Tuesday morning. “We will continue to work with our institutions on even management policies at all Big 12 events.”

Special Collector's Issue: "1984: The Year BYU was Second to None" Get an inclusive look inside BYU Football's 1984 National Championship season. Buy Now

Fans stormed the field when they thought the game had ended with ASU quarterback Sam Leavitt chucking the football into the crowd. However, after reviewing video of the play, officials put one second back on the clock, and it took more than 15 minutes to clear the field.

After BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff’s Hail Mary heave was caught by Chase Roberts at the 2-yard line to end the game, fans stormed the field again.

According to Arizonasports.com, ASU athletic director Graham Rossini told the Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta show that the fine was being covered by a booster.

“We had a donor step up to cover that fine so we’re moving forward,” Rossini said.

When he was asked by a media member who covers Arizona State after the game if he had a problem with the field storming, or the lengthy time it took to clear the field, BYU football coach Kalani Sitake said it was OK with him.

“I hate getting mad at the fans,” Sitake said. “They are so excited to get the win. It is two ranked teams that were playing. All we heard is there might be one second (left) and I am going to cling onto as much hope as I can. It is OK. None of our guys were hurt. So there is no big issue there. They eventually cleared it and we were able to get that one play.”

At his weekly press briefing on Monday, Sitake reiterated that he wasn’t worried about the multiple field stormings or anything that happened in Tempe, including a video that was apparently taken by someone outside the BYU locker room during halftime and included audio of a BYU player making an impassioned halftime speech.

The video was uploaded by an anonymous person to TikTok and then posted on X and other social media sites.

“They are handling all that, and even the recording,” Sitake said of the conference. “So they are looking into all of that stuff and they will deal with it. I trust the Big 12 leadership, and (will) just let them handle that.”

He continued, “I am more focused on what we can do this week, and what we can do today. And make sure that we perform a lot better than we did last weekend.”

Click here to read article