The University of Texas issued an apology for the behavior of its fans during a 30-15 loss to Georgia.
Texas System Board of Regents Chairman Kevin Eltife, president and athletic director Chris Del Conte all attached their names to the statement.
“While we deeply appreciate the passion and loyalty of our fan base at The University of Texas at Austin, we do not condone the unsportsmanlike conduct that was exhibited by some individuals throwing objects onto the field during last night’s game and sincerely apologize to the University of Georgia players, coaches and fans, as well as the Southeastern Conference and officiating crew,” the statement said. “This type of behavior will not be tolerated.”
The statement added that steps will be taken to make sure something like this does not happen again.
“Respect, sportsmanship, and fairness are the values that drive our program, and we expect all of our fans to uphold these standards,” 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. We appreciate the support of Longhorn Nation and are confident that, moving forward, we will continue to represent our university with pride and respect.”
Texas fans threw trash onto the field after a third-quarter penalty had negated a Texas interception.
While the trash was being cleaned up, the officials gathered and overturned the penalty. The trash incident caused a nearly four-minute delay in the game. Texas was not issued any sort of penalty for the delay.
Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks put out a lengthy statement on the matter on X.
“I will challenge the conference office on what happened and how it happened in the manner it did,” Brooks said. “Thankfully this did not cost our young men a hard fought win. Disagreeing with a singular call is natural and will happen several times in every football game. I can accept that. What I cannot accept is the manner in which this specific call was reversed.”
After the incident, Texas scored to make it a 23-15 game. Georgia was able to respond and score a touchdown on the ensuing drive to make it 30-15.
This was the first time Georgia and Texas met as conference foes. The two sides will play in Athens next season.
Texas’ next home game comes on Nov. 9, when it takes on Florida. Georgia plays Florida on Nov. 2, but that game will be played in Jacksonville, Fla. Georgia’s next home game is against Tennessee on Nov. 16.
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