TEMPE – With a smirk on his face after a big win, Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham pointed up to a television screen affixed in the top right corner of the press room at Mountain America Stadium.
To his surprise, he looked up to see that the message had disappeared. Still, he chuckled at what was once displayed on the monitor: “Entering the playing surface at any time is strictly prohibited!”
For ASU fans who witnessed the Sun Devils knock off No. 7 Texas Tech 26-22 in the game’s waning moments last Saturday, the statement served as a mere suggestion, as spectators poured in from the stands and flooded Frank Kush Field, forming a sea of maroon and gold.
FINAL: 26-22, #ASU
FIELD: Stormed@sportscronkite pic.twitter.com/z9twq0SWIF— Nate Mills (@natemillssports) October 19, 2025
But as fans took to the field and players jogged toward the locker room, emotions from a highly intense game boiled over. Multiple clips surfaced of fans and Texas Tech players and staff members engaging in hostile interactions, with some turning physical.
In one video, a Texas Tech player can be seen shoving an ASU fan who approached him in a seemingly antagonistic manner.
Another clip showed a Red Raiders player grabbing a photographer, as the two exchanged words, lending to an overall ugly scene.
“I don’t condone any actions to where you are verbally attacking anybody,” Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire told reporters Monday. “When you do, you’ve made a choice right there to (accept) whatever happens after that. I hope our guys are men enough to walk away and everything, but I know this: They just got through playing a football game and it was a war.
“I heard every cuss word in America said to me. … It’s funny, we don’t know them, and they don’t know us, but it’s just a mob of hate that comes out of people’s mouths in those situations.”
On Tuesday, the Big 12 handed Arizona State the bill for its postgame theatrics – a $50,000 field-storming fine.
“The Big 12 prioritizes the safety of all players, coaches and officials,” Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. “The Conference will continue to work with all of its institutions on event management policies at all Big 12 venues.”
ASU isn’t the only school in the conference that has run into controversy for fans rushing onto the field after a game.
Both BYU and Colorado received initial indications that they might also have to pay a $50,000 fine after their fans stormed the field. Yet, the Big 12 ultimately opted to waive the fines, saying the schools acted in a manner that adhered to the Big 12’s Principles and Standards of Sportsmanship.
“Is it a fine?” Colorado coach Deion Sanders asked journalists after the Buffaloes’ 24-17 win over then-No. 24 Iowa State. “Come on, man. That ain’t right. I want to see the kids rush the field. I absolutely love it.”
While Dillingham refused to take a side on the recent controversies surrounding rushing the field, he did reiterate the importance of keeping context in mind regarding heated altercations after a game.
“We should never just (judge) people by emotional moments,” Dillingham said. “Players, coaches, opposing team’s coaches in those moments of high energy and (when) fans (are) on the field, and you get a five, three-second clip of somebody, you should never judge somebody in those moments. You have no clue what happened prior to that. You have no clue what happened after that. I never feel like you should judge those players in those moments.”
Sun Devils fans are no strangers to storming the playing surface. Last Saturday marked the third time in the Kenny Dillingham era that fans rushed the field – it happened twice last year (against Utah and BYU). The Big 12 fined Arizona State $25,000 for its field storm after its win over BYU.
Saturday’s victory over the seventh-ranked Red Raiders stands as the program’s first top-10 win since 2019. Even as the reigning Big 12 champs, and with a healthy sophomore quarterback, Sam Leavitt, back in the lineup, ASU entered the afternoon as an underdog by nearly a touchdown.
As time wound down and students clumped up near the bottom of the student section during Texas Tech’s final drive, it became evident that a stampede was incoming.
“I was really surprised. They’re the defending Big 12 champs,” McGuire said. “So I was really surprised that they rushed the field.”
But, with a boisterous sellout crowd helping lift ASU to its 10th straight home win – placing it fifth in the country for a home-winning streak – and ready to burst with elation after an emotional upset, chaos seemed inevitable.
“They deserved it,” ASU junior running back Raleek Brown said. “They showed out (and) made it hard for Texas Tech.
“It was a (once in a) lifetime experience. I hope we can do it again.”
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