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Pac-12 to fine schools for court, field storming

Posted at 11:59 AM, May 24, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-24 15:22:06-04

Last season, after Colorado fans rushed the court following a big win over the Arizona Wildcats, UA coach Sean Miller and athletic director Greg Byrne spoke out about the potential dangers that players face in those situations.

On Tuesday, the Pac-12 took action to discourage court storming by announcing it will begin fining schools whose fans rush the court at the end of basketball games. Schools will also be fined if fans rush the field at the end of football games.

Beginning next season, the Pac-12 will fine schools $25,000 for a first offense, $50,000 a second offense and $100,000 for a third offense.

The measure was approved by Pac-12 presidents and chancellors after being recommended by the Pac-12 Council. 

"Eventually what's going to happen in the Pac-12 is this: An Arizona player is going to punch a fan, and they're going to punch the fan out of self-defense," Miller said after the Colorado game before adding, "there's only one (Pac-12) team right now that the court's stormed on."

The ASU student section's Twitter account had this reaction to Tuesday's news, including images from ASU's post-game celebrations after beating UA in Tempe.