Tom Holmoe doesn't want you to rush the court

Tom Holmoe wrote:
Cougar Nation



Our victory over San Diego State last Wednesday was an historical night for BYU Basketball. The Aztecs were the highest ranked opponent ever defeated in the Marriott Center since the building opened nearly 40 years ago.



The game was fantastic, with both teams competing like you would expect from two Top 10 teams. The excitement, energy and atmosphere were absolutely amazing. BYU basketball has a rich tradition and there have been a lot of great games over the years—Wednesday was certainly at, or near, the top of that list.



For the first time in Marriott Center history our fans rushed the court following the game. It was a spontaneous and natural reaction to knocking off the No. 4 ranked team in the country. It was also potentially dangerous and something that we should not make part of our usual victory celebration. We’ve been champions in recent years and our expectations are high for another championship.



We have five home games left to what has been an exciting season. We would encourage you to come support our team down the home stretch. We would also hope that regardless of the outcome of each game, we’ll continue to show great sportsmanship and respect for our opponent.



Thanks for your incredibly loyal support.



Go Cougars!



Tom Holmoe

Director of Athletics

BYU Cougars

Rushing the Court is especially dangerous given that they have no idea what the police wil do to you if you should try.

Police? You mean the ROTC volunteers they'll get to enforce crowd control.

He's simply saying all the right things. Considering this is BYU, very predictable statement before the UNLV game where things could potentially get ugly.



I doubt there are ANY ADs that want their student to flood the floor.

Gunk wrote:
Police? You mean the ROTC volunteers they'll get to enforce crowd control.

No, the actual police. I'm guessing the police were upset with the storming of the court and spoke to Holmoe about it.



They were less than cordial about it and I think handled the storming of the court in a less effective manner.



There is probably some fear for the safety of the players.

The Provo police can suck it. I'm generally very cordial and respectful to officers of the law, I think they get paid way too little and put themselves both in danger and all of their actions in the public eye. I even tell officers "thank you" for all the service they do after they've given me a ticket. I had a bad encounter with the Provo police in jr. high and their terrible ineptness, incompetence, and power-hungry attitude has been more and more evident ever since.



Kids storm courts all the time all over the country. Is it the ideal situation? No, but to be a total dick as a police officer when your duty is to "protect and serve" is absurd.

kitic77 wrote:

Police? You mean the ROTC volunteers they'll get to enforce crowd control.

No, the actual police. I'm guessing the police were upset with the storming of the court and spoke to Holmoe about it.



They were less than cordial about it and I think handled the storming of the court in a less effective manner.



There is probably some fear for the safety of the players.

Ahh...got ya. I can see that.

Maybe they're concerned about the stands collapsing. :lol: Either way, it's not good for the playing surface to have all those "street shoes" scuffing things up. Just wait for someone to get crushed or break a leg jumping down to the floor. This letter probably gives some release from liability.

The rather rotund officer just right of center court looked to me to actually be enjoying smacking kids back. Two other officers had to get him to stop when the crowd took over the court.Definetely some issue's there. If I were to do that to someone I would be in the Utah County Jail!!!