Commentary

Others should follow SEC's field rush lead

Arkansas fans rush onto the field after beating LSU Saturday, Nov. 15, 2014, at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.

— Credit the Southeastern Conference for its proactive approach concerning fans entering the playing surface of stadiums and arenas.

In 2004, the SEC became the first league to impose fines on its member institutions for field rushes and court storms. At this week's league meetings in Destin, Florida, the SEC is expected to increase such fines after five schools - including Arkansas - had incidents following football games last season.

The SEC is the only league to impose penalties for schools that allow fans on the field, although the Big 12 is also considering such legislation following the incident during a basketball game at Kansas State in February.

It would be wise for other leagues to follow suit before someone gets hurt again.

This isn't about trying to take the fun out of sports. It's about protecting the welfare of fans.

After studying horror stories from similar events, it was cringe-worthy as fans rushed the football field following a pair of Arkansas games last November - once at home, once on the road. Nearly as grating was the highlight shows celebrating the footage.

While field rushes and court storms look like innocent fun on TV, they can have long-lasting effects. For instance, a total of three students were paralyzed during field rushes at Ball State in 2001 and Toledo in 2003.

The paralysis in all three instances was caused by falling goal posts. While many schools have installed collapsible goal posts in years since, not all have made the investment. Ole Miss students tore down goal posts following a win over Alabama last season.

A University of Missouri student suffered facial fractures after being punched by a Nebraska football player during another 2003 field rush. The end of a 2014 basketball game between New Mexico State and Utah Valley included students fighting with visiting players during a court storm.

During a court storm at an Arizona high school in 2004, Joe Kay was thrown to the floor after scoring a game-winning dunk the night before his 18th birthday. Kay suffered a stroke and a torn artery, causing paralysis to one side of his body.

"ESPN and others always show it on the highlight reels -- maybe if they didn't, fans wouldn't have that same want and need, perhaps it would simmer down," Kay said during a 2013 interview with ESPN.

Then there was the 1993 incident following a game at Wisconsin in which 80 people were injured when students rushed the field following a win over Michigan. It remains the most researched and referenced fan breach by event management personnel.

Arkansas athletics director Jeff Long was indirectly involved with two of the incidents. He was an associate athletics director at Michigan in 1993 and was in his first year as Pittsburgh athletics director when the Panthers lost to Toledo in 2003.

During a March interview, Long said the incident at Toledo still has an impact on him.

"Those are peoples' lives," Long said. "We have a responsibility to protect the fans, we have a responsibility to protect the student-athletes on the fields of play and we have a responsibility to protect the coaches.

"I think we're going to take some very strong action. I'm one that believes in very strong sanctions for court storms."

Long is one of those leading discussion on the issue this week in Destin. Florida athletics director Jeremy Foley is another.

"It's always concerned me that it's going happen sometime and somebody's going to get significantly hurt, killed even," Foley said during an interview with The Associated Press, "and then the whole world will figure out what they're going to do and they'll change it but one person will have paid a significant price."

But as LSU athletics director Joe Alleva points out, with an average fan to security ratio of 250 to 1, the schools can only do so much to prevent incidents from happening. It will likely take more than monetary penalties levied upon the schools to curtail the trend.

"You can't build a wall around the field. You can't put up barbed wire. You can't have horses and guns out there," Alleva told the AP. "There's a line of how much you can do."