It’s not often that fans of college football’s all-time winningest program rush the field to celebrate a one-point win over a team from the Mid-American Conference.
Then again, there was nothing remotely
normal about the way that Michigan beat Western Michigan on Saturday, Sept. 5.
The No. 16 Wolverines looked to be on the losing end of a monumental upset, with a Bryce Underwood Hail Mary going out of the back of the end zone to seal a 12-7 loss to Western Michigan. After a video review, though, game officials added one second back on the clock.
Michigan made the most of the second chance, with Underwood heaving a 47-yard pass that ended up in the hands of teammate JJ Buchanan in the end zone to give the Wolverines a stunning and equally controversial 13-12 victory over the Broncos.
Apparently energized by the dramatic turn of events, with a deflating loss turning into a shocking win in just a handful of minutes, Michigan fans flocked from their seats in the Big House down to the field where Underwood’s miraculous touchdown had just occurred, even though their team came into the game as a 27.5-point favorite.
Will the school have to pay (literally) for the celebration? Here’s what you need to know:
Will Big Ten fine Michigan for field-storming?
It remains unclear whether Michigan will receive any kind of punishment, financial or otherwise, from the Big Ten for its fans storming the field after the Wolverines’ season-opening win against Western Michigan.
Unlike the SEC and ACC, the Big Ten doesn’t have an escalating fine system in place for member schools for incidents in which their fans storm the field. A 2024 ESPN story on court-storming noted that the conference has a policy in place in which a “discretionary fine can result on a third offense for failure to ‘provide adequate security for visiting teams from their arrival for a game through their departure.’”
At several points in the past, the league declined to take action against a school whose fans took to the gridiron to celebrate. After Minnesota upset USC in 2024, for instance, the Golden Gophers were not fined, with the conference instead issuing a statement saying that “the safety and security of student-athletes, coaches and staff is of utmost importance.”
An email to the Big Ten asking about a potential fine for Michigan was not immediately returned.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Will Big Ten fine Michigan for storming field? Conference rules, explained
