Throwing a football out of Jordan-Hare could get you more than time on the JumboTron.
The football semi-tradition entails students catching footballs from the field goals and extra points scored by the opposing team and throwing them from the stadium.
Unlucky or conspicuous fans will find themselves escorted from the stadium by Auburn police.
The first ejection occurred during Utah State.
"If that type of behavior occurred, as a minimum the person would be escorted from the stadium," said Captain Tom Stofer of the Auburn police. "But, we could take other action."
That other action is an arrest on a charge of theft of property. No arrests have been made in relation to the practice, but students are still annoyed by the possibility of punishment.
"It's just a football," said Adam Lucy, freshman in biomedical sciences. "It's just kind of a waste of time for them. It's not like they need it."
Kirk Sampson with athletic media relations says that police have discretion in the stadium to carry out the policies in place.
The Auburn Fan Guide lays out the law on throwing anything from Jordan-Hare.
"Do not throw objects, including cups and ice, from the stands or any other area of the stadium. Anyone caught throwing objects will be subject to ejection from the stadium and/or arrest."
Others feel the University should do more to keep students out of trouble than enforce policies.
"If the University doesn't want students to toss footballs out of the stadium after field goals and extra points, there should be nets behind the goal posts," said Brandon Frye, graduate student in materials engineering. "Throwing students out of a game for participating in a tradition after they've been pressured by the student section and displayed on the JumboTron doesn't make much sense."
Stofer said that although police could charge a fan with theft of property, it's unlikely they would.
"We have a lot of good fans, and they'll do what they need to do and return the ball to the field," Stofer said.
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