Big 12 Fines UCF $100,000, Sets New Penalties Over Anti-BYU Chants

Q: Why did the Big 12 fine UCF $100,000 after its BYU upset, and what happens if discriminatory chants happen again midgame?

The Big 12 fined UCF $100,000 because fans at the Knights’ Oct. 24 home win over BYU directed discriminatory, anti-Mormon chants at the visiting team, conduct the conference said violated its standards. The league acknowledged that UCF had pregame protocols in place and that security removed some of the people involved, but said that response did not erase the violation. The fine will be used for student education initiatives. Under the Big 12’s new policy, if discriminatory chanting happens again during a game, the first confirmed incident brings an automatic minimum $100,000 fine and a formal warning to the host school so it can try to stop it immediately. If there is a second confirmed incident in the same game, the conference says it can impose an in-game competitive penalty, such as a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in football or a two-shot technical foul in basketball. That second incident can also bring an additional fine of up to $500,000. Fans ejected for discriminatory conduct can be barred from attending all athletic events for the rest of the academic year and may face school discipline as well. The policy was announced immediately after the UCF-BYU case and reflects a tougher Big 12 response to repeated anti-BYU incidents at conference events.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Oct 29

$100,000 will be paid by UCF after the Big 12 ruled anti-BYU chants by fans before last weekend's game were discriminatory and unacceptable.
The conference said some fans were removed during the game, but still announced an immediate league-wide policy with an automatic minimum $100,000 fine for a first confirmed incident.
A second confirmed incident in the same event can now trigger a competitive penalty — such as a 15-yard unsportsmanlike flag in football or a two-shot technical in basketball.
Fans ejected for similar conduct will be barred from all athletic events for the rest of the academic year, extending punishment beyond school discipline.
The move follows chants targeting BYU's Mormon identity during UCF's upset overtime win in Orlando and gives the Big 12 a conference-wide framework for policing discriminatory behavior.