IRVING, Texas – Discriminatory chants from the stands can now cost a Big 12 team more than money. The conference’s response to fan conduct at UCF adds penalties capable of changing field position or giving an opponent free throws, bringing the consequences onto the playing surface.
The league fined the University of Central Florida $100,000 on Wednesday, October 28, after reviewing chants directed at BYU during Saturday’s football game in Orlando. It said the money would go toward student education initiatives.
The financial sanction and the new competitive penalties are separate decisions. UCF received the fine for the incident under review; the conference-wide policy takes effect immediately and establishes what happens when discriminatory behavior is confirmed at future athletic events. Nothing in the announcement says Saturday’s result is being changed.
In its official statement, the Big 12 acknowledged UCF’s pregame protocols and its immediate response during the game, including the removal of some individuals responsible. Those steps did not prevent the fine. The conference said discriminatory behavior “has no place in the Big 12.”
That acknowledgment matters. The league did not describe a university that took no action; it described action that was insufficient to avoid an institutional sanction. Under the new framework, schools also receive a formal opportunity to intervene before a second confirmed incident brings consequences for their teams.
A first confirmed incident during a game now triggers an automatic minimum fine of $100,000. A formal warning follows, giving the institution an opportunity to address the behavior immediately and prevent another occurrence. The word “minimum” leaves that opening financial penalty as a floor, not a stated maximum.
A second confirmed incident during the same game triggers an in-game competitive penalty. The conference gave two examples: a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty in football and an unsportsmanlike two-shot technical foul in basketball. It also said the second incident may bring an additional $500,000 fine.
The distinction is consequential for any account of the punishment. The competitive sanction follows the second confirmed incident under the announced policy, but the additional financial sanction is not described as automatic. Nor did the conference announce a $500,000 fine against UCF in this case.
For a football team, the new rule means behavior by spectators could move the ball even when the players themselves have committed no offense described in the announcement. In basketball, the stated example gives the opposition a scoring opportunity. The policy therefore places a sporting cost alongside the university’s financial exposure.
Individuals face a separate consequence. Anyone ejected for discriminatory conduct will be barred from all athletic events for the remainder of the academic year and remain subject to applicable university fan or student conduct policies. The announced ban extends beyond the sport in which the ejection occurs.
UCF has not simply accepted the decision without comment. In coverage carried by ABC News, athletics spokesman Adam Widman said Wednesday night that, after learning of the conference’s decision, “we will be reviewing our options.” That statement did not identify a particular appeal, a timetable or a decision to challenge the fine.
The same report described video shared on social media showing fans directing an expletive-laden chant at members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints before kickoff. Security removed some spectators. UCF went on to win the game in overtime, but the conference’s review concerned discriminatory conduct rather than the merits of the result.
For BYU, the target of the chants, the announcement provides a different kind of protection from a retrospective fine alone. A warning and a potential penalty within the same contest create a route for intervention while visiting players, coaches and supporters are still in the venue. Whether that changes spectator behavior is not established by the announcement itself.
The Big 12 Conference said it would continue working with member institutions to prevent discriminatory behavior and ensure meaningful consequences. Its statement does not name the specific education programs that will receive UCF’s payment, describe how the money will be allocated or provide a schedule for that work.
There are operational limits to what the published statement explains, too. It does not spell out who confirms an incident, what evidence is required or how the warning is communicated during play. The football and basketball sanctions are examples; the statement does not provide a sport-by-sport enforcement manual.
That leaves schools with a clear financial threshold and the prospect of a competitive penalty, but not a complete public account of the confirmation process. For UCF, the immediate obligation announced is $100,000 for student education. The precise programs and the university’s next response remain unspecified.
