AUSTIN, Texas — Coach Steve Sarkisian on Monday said the Texas Longhorns’ “passionate fanbase” needs to use “better discretion” after the school was fined and threatened with further sanctions by the SEC.
Texas fans pelted the field with water bottles and trash in the third quarter of Saturday night’s loss to Georgia after an apparent pass interference penalty against the Longhorns. The game was briefly delayed for cleanup before the penalty was ultimately reversed.
Sarkisian went on the field at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium to implore fans to stop throwing things.
“I know that we’ve got a passionate fanbase and I think that showed Saturday night,” Sarkisian said Monday. “I think we all were a little upset in that moment. I just think that we’ve all got to use a little better discretion in moments like that.
“We don’t want that to be the narrative that that’s what DKR is all about. It was too good of a football game for that to be the focal point of it all. I think in the end they got it [the penalty reversal] right.”
School administrators and SEC officials condemned the fans’ acts Sunday.
The SEC fined Texas $250,000 and said the school must meet requirements assigned by SEC commissioner Greg Sankey that include using available resources to find and suspend fans who threw debris, reviewing alcohol availability policies and providing a report of the school’s findings to the SEC.
The SEC did not suspended Texas’ alcohol sales, but said it can if the Longhorns don’t meet those requirements.
Texas issued a joint statement from Board of Regents chairman Kevin Eltife, UT president Jay Hartzell and athletic director Chris Del Conte that condemned the bottle-throwing and apologized to Georgia players and staff, the SEC and game officials.
“This type of behavior will not be tolerated,” the statement said. “We are committed to fostering a positive environment for all participants, teams, officials and fans, and we will take steps to ensure that this type of behavior does not happen again.”
Texas has not said what those steps will be.