Texas’ Steve Sarkisian asks fans to exercise discretion after SEC fine

AUSTIN, Texas – Coach Steve Sarkisian said Monday that the Texas Longhorns’ “passionate fan base” should exercise “better discretion” after the school was fined and threatened with further sanctions by the SEC.

Texas fans pelted the field with water bottles and trash in the third quarter of Saturday night’s loss to Georgia following an apparent pass interference penalty against the Longhorns. The match was briefly postponed for cleaning before the penalty was eventually overturned.

Sarkisian took the field at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium to beg fans to stop throwing.

“I know we have a passionate fan base, and I think that was evident Saturday night,” Sarkisian said Monday. “I think we were all a little upset at that moment. I just think we all have to use a little more discretion at times like that.

“We don’t want this to be the story that DKR is all about. It was too good a football match to be the center of that. I think in the end they got it (the penalty reversal) on the right.”

Even actor Matthew McConaughey, a graduate of the school and the university’s “Minister of Culture,” had a message for Longhorns fans after Saturday’s incident.

“Let’s be honest about the bottle bombing the fielding error we had,” McConaughey posted to show up, show up like no other, and still maintain our class.

“So let’s clean up that kind of BS in the future and leave it behind us for good. We need to shake it off.”

School administrators and SEC officials condemned the fans’ actions Sunday.

The SEC fined Texas $250,000 and said the school must comply with SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey’s requirements, including using available resources to identify and suspend fans who threw debris, policies on the availability of alcohol and provide a report of the school’s findings to the SEC.

The SEC has not suspended alcohol sales in Texas, but the league said it could do so if the Longhorns do not meet those requirements.

Texas issued a joint statement from Board of Regents Chairman Kevin Eltife, UT President Jay Hartzell and athletics director Chris Del Conte condemning the bottle throwing and apologizing to Georgia players and staff, the SEC and game officials.

“This type of behavior will not be tolerated,” 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 this type of behavior does not occur again.”

Texas has not said what those steps will be.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.