EUGENE, Ore. (KMTR) -- After last week's win over Fresno State, many fans looked forward to the Autzen tradition of rushing the field. But there is one important rule and when it's broken, body parts also tend to get broken. Fans are told to wait five minutes after the game before going on the field. Unfortunately, there are always fans who break the rule. When they hop over the 8-foot wall, they put themselves and others in danger.
A 16-year-old shattered his ankle trying to hop the wall Saturday. Now officials are questioning the safety of this tradition.
“We're one of the few places in the country that actually allows people to go on the field post-game and it is something we want to continue to do,” says Craig Pintens, Senior Associate Athletic Director for the University of Oregon. “But, for the safety of players and for the safety of our fans,we really want to keep people off until the five minute mark, just because these are the kind of things that can happen.”
Pintens says this isn't the first injury, but he hopes it is the last. The athletics department really wants to keep the tradition alive.
Pintens adds that after a long game, being bombarded by fans is the last thing the student athletes want to face.
They're happy to let the fans on the field, but only after both teams are safely off.
