These kids roll their eys now, but I bet they will have the thought in the back of their mind that they could get in serious trouble. I don't know how I feel about this whole issue really...... ??


From the news&observer:

Quote:RALEIGH -- The must-have souvenir for college football fans accustomed to flooding the home field after a big win used to be a fractured fragment of a goal post.
But the ultimate keepsake from N.C. State's Carter-Finley Stadium this season could be an arrest warrant, perhaps suitable for framing by Mom and Dad.

In the wake of the Wolfpack's Nov. 23 home victory over Florida State last season -- punctuated by the rush onto the field of 12,000 to 15,000 fans, three of whom reported injuries -- university officials plan to beef up security at home games this season.

Unlike past years, when stadium security tried to keep fans from spilling onto the field but didn't try to arrest them, campus police have vowed to charge people with trespassing this season. N.C. State's public safety department also spent about $20,000 to install a video security system at Carter-Finley that eventually could include up to 16 cameras to identify field crashers face by face.

While students grumble that the university is clamping down unfairly on what some consider a fan's right to celebrate, N.C. State officials said it doesn't make sense anymore to risk the welfare of coaches, players and fans caught up in a celebratory mob.

Police used pepper spray after State's 17-7 victory over the Seminoles last season to prevent fans from dragging goal posts out of the stadium. It took paramedics almost 10 minutes to wade through the crush of people on the field to reach two of the three who were injured.

And Florida State officials told N.C. State athletics director Lee Fowler later that Seminoles players trying to leave the field found themselves surrounded by State fans taunting them and yelling.

Fowler said that keeping fans off the field wouldn't be as necessary if everyone's safety could be guaranteed. When you're talking about thousands of people, however, that can't be done, he said.

"The first order of business is we want to make sure that the coaches and the visiting team and the fans are all safe," Fowler said Thursday. "With people rushing on the field like that, there's no way of ensuring that."

In February, NCAA, university and municipal officials met in Dallas to discuss guidelines for controlling fan celebrations. Although the NCAA has not established a policy, schools across the country are re-examining their security measures after a rash of incidents in which fans mobbed the field to celebrate wins. There were at least three other notable incidents the same day that State fans rushed Carter-Finley's field in November.

Fans at Ohio State clogged the field after the Buckeyes defeated Michigan. That celebration spilled outside the stadium, and spectators set about 30 fires.

In Berkeley, Calif., about a dozen fans were injured in an on-field celebration after California's 30-7 victory over Stanford.

And at Clemson, S.C., a deputy sheriff broke a collarbone and a rib and a woman was injured when Clemson fans rushed the field to celebrate a 27-20 win over South Carolina.

To prevent further unruly celebrations, a Clemson University task force came up with the "Gathering at the Paw" plan for this season. Fans will be allowed to come out on the field after games, but security personnel will route them toward the east end zone. If all goes according to plan, that would allow the visiting team to walk away unimpeded toward the locker room at the west end of the stadium.

Other ACC schools have discussed measures to keep the playing field fan-free. Virginia football coach Al Groh said it's important to have a plan in place.

"At the same time that we're trying to promote exuberance, energy, intensity, passion and a little bit of craziness in the stands, we just hope that it stays in the stands and doesn't spill over," Groh said.

University of North Carolina officials said they discourage fans from rushing the field, as the crowd did after the Tar Heels rocked Florida State in 2001 at Kenan Stadium, but they do not plan on arresting anyone who does so.

N.C. State officials hope that a public information campaign, including Jumbotron pleas by Coach Chuck Amato and Wolfpack quarterback Philip Rivers, will encourage fans to celebrate appropriately and stay off the field .

Still, some fans probably will be itching to re-enact a storming of the turf in November if State secures the ACC championship . At Wednesday's student-ticket drop for Saturday's season opener against Western Carolina, some N.C. State fans rolled their eyes at the promise of arrest or discipline from the university's student conduct office.

"I could see maybe getting kicked out [of the stadium] or suspended for a game," said Vanessa Wells, a 21-year-old senior from Statesville.

Garrett Otten, a 19-year-old sophomore from Charlotte, and Justin Murray, a 21-year-old junior from Andover, Mass., simply scoffed. If NCSU is closing in on an undefeated season, they couldn't imagine not rushing the field if the Wolfpack beats Maryland at home Nov. 22.

"If it's a big game, we ought to be able to celebrate," Otten said.

"They can't stop 30,000 people from running out at the same time," Murray added.

Campus police chief Thomas C. Younce said he hopes fans can be convinced to resist that urge.

"If we've got to do a wholesale mass arrest, then we've probably failed at getting the word out," Younce said.
Staff writer Lorenzo Perez can be reached at 829-4643 or lperez@newsobserver.com