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West Virginia University officials are examining procedures for admitting students into men’s basketball games after unruly crowd behavior at the gates ahead of Monday’s game against Villanova University.
The mass of students waiting to enter the Coliseum reportedly became disorderly when entering at 5:30 p.m., pushing to get through the metal barricades separating students from the building entrance and forcing several students to the ground. Spectators described the scene as "mob-like."
Russ Sharp, senior associate athletic director for Finance and Administration at WVU, said he did not personally experience the rush as students were admitted.
"I do know that there was some damage to the building, the doors and a couple of bike racks. So that tells me it was not an orderly flow of people into the Coliseum," he said. "We have had some damage at other games, but this is the most we’ve seen."
Sharp said officials plan to alter the way students queue up waiting to enter the facility to combat the issue, organizing the flow of people through he gates. Mountaineer Maniacs Director Cassie Werner said a meeting later this week has been set up to talk about solutions.
Crowd management personnel from Contemporary Services Corporation, the University Police Department and State Police provided security during the game.
Though Sharp said more security was directed inside the Coliseum in response to poor fan
behavior during last week’s men’s basketball game against the
University of Pittsburgh, he said security at the gates was not reduced.
University Police Chief Bob Roberts said UPD was focused on the gates rather than inside the building.
Those involved acknowledged fans often become unruly as they enter the Coliseum, especially before high profile games. Officials and students alike said this was the worst scenario in recent memory.
"I’m a senior, and I’ve been to virtually every game while school was in session, and this is definitely the worst rush on the gates I’ve ever been a part of," said Drew Rottgen, a senior accounting major. "There was just no order at all."
Rottgen was in the first part of the line and was pushed to the ground by the crowd behind him when the gates were opened.
"It was really bad. Whenever I went down, there were probably four people on the ground in front of me," he said. "If the crowd hadn’t slowed down eventually, they could have been killed. They really could have."
Manav Kohli, a freshman political science major, did not stay for the game after his experience entering the building, which he called "traumatizing."
"I was broken down, battered. I didn’t really care about the game anymore," he said.
Junior civil engineering major Steve Guenther had a similar experience.
"The people in the front of the crowd were being knocked under and being buried underneath more and more people," he said. "And the people in the back either wanted to get in at all costs or didn’t know about the situation up front."
He blamed the lack of organization from authorities for the dangerous situation
"People can’t be put into a situation where being aggressive and putting people in danger will benefit them, because they will take advantage of it, and they will behave like a mob."
Those involved agreed the system for admitting students to basketball games must be changed to avoid similar situations in the future, though the solution is not yet clear.
"I think that in the long term, there needs to be some changes. Really, in today’s environment, people shouldn’t have to stand outside that way," Roberts said.
"With only three days left in the season, we don’t have time to implement it this year, but we do think we have a system that can help with lining them up for the rest of this season."
31 comments
STUDENT OBESITY REFLECTS NEGATIVELY ON NATIONAL TV
WVU FANS FAIL TO RECYCLE SODA CUPS AT GAMEseriously, find something else to bitch about, please.
To the students: Great job on not using language, keep being loud and proud. The problems now are not your fault, but the fault of our leadership.Suggestions: Give wristbands to people before they try and stampede. Give them as soon as they start getting in line and have an actual line, not just a large group of people. There has to be enough barricades to form a line around the corner in the shape of a line and not a "mob"Students will continue to act like animals if we are continued to be treated like animals. Actions reflect leadership.