The war on fans rushing the field continued Monday. In addition to LSU getting a fine of $100,000 from the SEC for their fans rushing the field after the Tigers beat Georgia, West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen shared his opinions on the matter just days after he experienced the same situation on the road at Iowa State.
Calling the action “very unprofessional,” Holgorsen said it was quite a hassle just getting his players off the field as Iowa State fans rushed the field to celebrate the big win over the Mountaineers.
West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen criticizes fans rushing the field Saturday at Iowa State, calls it "very unprofessional." Says it was "pretty dicey" getting players off the field after the game.
— Chuck Carlton (@ChuckCarltonDMN) October 15, 2018
To be fair, Holgorsen has a point. Fans rushing the field is a dangerous situation for any team, especially the road team, to be caught up in. The concerns extend to basketball as well, as similar concerns by Duke men’s basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski has long been speaking out against it. (Although, there are some rules that can be applied.) Storming the playing surface may be more of a hazard for opposing teams in basketball where the space is more condensed compared to a football field, but the dangers and hazards are the same for both sports.
“Our job is to keep players safe,” Holgorsen explained, per a Des Moines Register report. “We didn’t have time to get (players) off the field. That was not good. No one was hurt that I’m aware of. It was dicey for a while.”
This video watching the Iowa State fans rushing the field after Saturday night’s win, handing West Virginia its first loss of the season, has someone commenting in the background there was a fight taking place on the field as fans lefts the stands.
At this time, Iowa State has not been penalized by the Big 12 for allowing fans to rush the field in such fashion. The Big 12 does not have a standardized penalty system for field and court rushings the way the SEC has, and each case is reviewed internally by the league office.
