If the father of Illinois senior quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase is going to watch his son play a game at the collegiate level the remainder of this season, he’ll have to go on the road to do it.
Nathan Creer, Scheelhaase’s father, has been banned from the Illini campus for one year following an incident during last Saturday’s game at Memorial Stadium, the Indianapolis Star reported. The incident occurred roughly midway through the Illini’s loss to Michigan State and ended with Creer being arrested and charged with resisting a peace officer.
The university’s police chief, Jeff Christensen, told the Star that “campus bans are ‘standard practice’ when someone who isn’t a student or university employee is suspected of creating trouble at the school.”
The arrest and charge came after an incident involving Creer, who police said appeared to be intoxicated, and several fans in what was technically referred to as a “fight.” Police officers were called into the stands after the altercation was reported at around 3:30 local time.
“From what I heard, somebody was intoxicated, words were exchanged, swings were exchanged. We got the parties separated. Some calmed down and went along with the program. Some did not,” UI deputy police chief Skip Frost said earlier this week.
One of the some (allegedly) was Creer, who was arrested after he pulled away from an officer attempting to remove him from the incident involving upwards of 10 people. Creer was the only individual hit with charges stemming from the brouhaha, although three other individuals involved were ejected from the stadium.
Campus police have stated they are unsure what sparked the incident.