Big 12 fines UCF $100,000 and sets game penalties for discriminatory chants
After reviewing chants directed at BYU during Saturday’s game at UCF, the Big 12 imposed a fine and introduced escalating penalties for confirmed incidents across its athletic events.
The Big 12 fined UCF $100,000 on October 28 after reviewing discriminatory chants directed at BYU during their October 24 football game at UCF. The conference also introduced an immediately effective policy that can impose an in-game penalty if discriminatory conduct happens twice during the same game.
UCF beat BYU 39-31 in double overtime, The Sporting News reported. The Big 12 said UCF had followed pregame protocols and removed some people responsible for the conduct during the game. It said the fine will fund student education initiatives.
What the Big 12’s new policy requires
Under the conference-wide policy, a first confirmed incident during a game brings an automatic fine of at least $100,000 and a formal warning to the institution. The warning gives the school an opportunity to address the behavior immediately and prevent another incident, according to the Big 12. The policy applies to discriminatory conduct at athletic events across the conference.
A second confirmed incident in the same game triggers a competitive penalty. The Big 12 gave a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty in football and an unsportsmanlike two-shot technical foul in basketball as examples. It said a second incident may also bring an additional $500,000 fine; that extra fine is discretionary under the announced policy.
People ejected for discriminatory conduct will be barred from attending athletic events for the remainder of the academic year and will also be subject to applicable university fan or student conduct policies, the conference said. Those consequences apply to the individuals ejected, while the fines and competitive penalties apply to the institution or its team.
How the UCF game led to the change
The conference described the conduct it reviewed as discriminatory chants directed at BYU. Its statement did not identify the words used. The Sporting News described the chants as anti-LDS and attributed a report of the specific wording to News 6; the conference itself did not establish that wording in its announcement.
The Big 12 said discriminatory behavior has no place in its events and that it would continue working with member institutions to prevent it. Its new rules make a second confirmed incident during one game consequential for competition as well as for the host institution’s finances, while requiring a warning after the first incident.
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Sources and context
- Statement from the Big 12 ConferenceBig 12 Conference
- Big 12 fines UCF $100,000 for anti-LDS chants during BYU game, institutes field penalty for future incidentsThe Sporting News; republicated by Yahoo Sports
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.