East Carolina fined by C-USA for fans storming field

Sep 12, 2008 - 4:00 PM IRVING, Texas (Ticker) -- East Carolina is going to have to pay for celebrating its big win over West Virginia.

The Pirates were fined $10,000 and made subject to a possible suspension of future hosting privileges on Friday for violating Conference USA's sportsmanship rules.

The violation stemmed from the fans' decision to rush the field at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium following Saturday's 24-3 upset of West Virginia, an act that league commissioner Britton Banowsky stated was a clear violation of sportsmanship in a letter to East Carolina athletic director Terry Holland.

Banowsky went on to mention that if there was a repeat of the incident that the school would be denied the right to host any conference championship competitions.

"Having personally experienced the game day atmosphere at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, I would like to congratulate the 43,610 members of the Pirate Nation who provided a national television audience with an outstanding example of how important the fans are to a great college football experience," Banowsky said. "However, in June 2008, the conference adopted a post-game policy to ensure the safety of visiting players and officials is maintained. That cannot be achieved when fans are celebrating on the field in the presence of the visiting team.

"As is the case in every conference, we expect all 12 of our members to take the steps necessary to create a safe environment at their events. It is both a reasonable expectation and an important one."

While security was clearly overwhelmed by the outpouring of joy by the fans, allegations of excessive force quickly arose as video from the game showed fans knocked down and roughed up by authorities.

On Wednesday, East Carolina University police chief Scott Shelton stated they his department will now only use local officers following the allegations.

"Our first concern at any of our athletics events is the safety of the fans and the participants," ECU chancellor Steve Ballard said. "We are committed to making any changes necessary to enhance safety at these events and to follow Conference USA mandates."

Following up on its season-opening upset of No. 17 Virginia Tech, the Pirates (2-0) are ranked 14th in the nation this week, its first appearance in the Top 25 since 1999.