UCF Fined $25,000 For Court-Storming vs. Kansas
While Johnny Dawkins and the UCF Knights won a massive game against the No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks on Wednesday, the Big 12 Conference announced that they are fining the Knights $25,000 for rushing the court after the win.
Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark addressed the situation by saying, “Ensuring a safe environment for all players, coaches, officials and support staff is paramount. Although well intended, the UCF event management policy did not provide for the protection of the visiting team and game officials to safely exit the court.”
UCF finished off the matchup against Kansas with a commanding 65-60 upset which brought out palm trees and thousands of cheering Knights fans sprinting to storm the court. While UCF’s chances of upsetting Kansas were slim, the Knights rallied back from down 16 points late in the first half to earn its first ranked win since 2020 and just the program’s second win over an AP Top 5 team in its history.
The Knights emerged victorious thanks to some tenacious defense keeping Kansas to just 51.1% from the field. They also forced Bill Self’s team into 18 turnovers. Jaylin Sellers led UCF with 18 points, but was followed closely behind by Darius Johnson with 17 and Ibrahima Diallo with 13.
The Knights will take the court next on Saturday, January 13th against the No. 18 BYU Cougars at 3:00 PM CT with coverage live on ESPN+.
