Nearly 20 Fans Arrested For Throwing Trash On Field At UT Football Game

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Nearly 20 people were arrested and over 40 were kicked out of the University of Tennessee-Knoxville football game on Saturday (October 16) after fans began throwing trash on the field, WKRN reports. Now, the school is facing a fine.

The matchup was bound to be a big game at Neyland Stadium when former Volunteers head coach Lane Kiffin was set to return for the first time since 2009, now with his new team at Ole Miss. However, no one expected the game, which ended in a 31-26 loss for UT, to be as dramatic as it turned out to be.

With just 54 seconds left in the game, Vols fans were upset after a call by referees ended the team's chance at scoring. In response, many fans in the stands began throwing trash and other debris onto the field, including a golf ball that managed to hit Kiffin's arm while he spoke to officials.

According to a preliminary report from campus police, 18 people were arrested and 47 were ejected from the game after water bottles, beer cans and even condiments pelted the sidelines. During the chaos, which paused the game for around 20 minutes, UT Cheer and Dance teams as well the University Band left the field, shielding themselves from the debris.

Police are working to identify individuals who threw items on the field, with students who were found responsible being barred from attending future games. UT Chancellor Donde Plowman issued a statement following the game denouncing the "bad behavior" of fans in the stands.

"I want out fans to be passionate in support of our student-athletes. That cannot mean resorting to bad behavior when things don't go our way," said Plowman. "We should create a safe, fun, and competitive environment in all our sports venues, for both teams, and we need our fans to help us do that."

Head coach Josh Heupel addressed the scene during the post-game press conference.

"First, I just want to acknowledge for the few fans, what transpired at the end and disappointed on how the game ended as things were being thrown from the crowd, but I know that's very few of our crowd members. For most of the football game, that was an unbelievable atmosphere to see Vol Nation show out the way they did."

Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey released a statement shortly after the game ended in the early morning hours of Sunday.

"The Conference has established expectations for behavior and sportsmanship, and the actions of fans at Saturday night's game were unacceptable under any circumstances," he said. "We are accustomed to intense competition every week, but under no circumstances is it acceptable to endanger the contest participants and disrupt a game."

He continued, "We will review existing Conference policies and the Commissioner's authority to impose penalties and communicate with the leadership at the University of Tennessee — and all of the SEC's member universities — to make certain this situation is not repeated."

On Monday afternoon, the SEC fined the University of Tennessee $250,000 for fan misconduct, which will be withheld from the Vols' annual SEC distribution, WKRN reports.


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