A weekend of upsets in the Big 12 that hurt the conference’s playoff chances also put a dent in a couple of members’ bank accounts, although we’re quite certain each was glad to cough up the cash for the greater good.
Over the course of the afternoon and on into last Saturday night, unranked Kansas State stunned No. 5 Oklahoma in Manhattan; unranked TCU dropped No. 15 Texas in Fort Worth; and Kansas scored its first win over Texas Tech since 2001 and its first-ever win over the Red Raiders in Lawrence.
All three of the wins resulted in fans storming the respective fields. All three of the field-storming incidents also caught the attention of the Big 12 office, which announced on Wednesday that each of the home universities involved has been issued a public reprimand.
Additionally, as this wasn’t their first such incident, both K-State and TCU were slapped with fines of $25,000 each.
“Our institutions have a duty to provide a safe game environment,” said Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby said in a statement. “Although the Big 12 does not currently have a policy prohibiting spectators from entering playing areas for post-game celebrations, it is of utmost importance that home game management provides adequate security measures for our student-athletes, coaches, game officials and spectators. That expectation includes providing safe passage from the playing field to the locker room, and protection of the visiting team bench area.”