Unsportsmanlike Conduct Penalty: Broadcasters Angry About NCAA Excessive Celebration Rule

Sports commentators called the penalty "pathetic" following the September 6, 2008 football game between the Washington Huskies and the BYU Cougars. Washington quarterback Jake Locker scored a touchdown with two seconds left in the game to pull the Huskies within one point. Locker threw the ball into the air in a moment of spontaneous celebration.

Washington Huskies BYU

Unfortunately for Washington, and fortunately for BYU, this is a violation of the new NCAA excessive celebration rule. Washington was assessed a 15 yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for the extra point that would tie the game and send it into overtime. The kick was blocked. The Huskies lost.

Quarterback Jake Locker

Immediately TV sports commentators sympathized with Locker and criticized the referees for calling the penalty. They assumed that the call cost Washington the game and said the officials should have "let it go" even though the throw was clearly against the rule that requires players to give an official the ball immediately upon scoring a touchdown or leave it where they were tackled.

Unsportsmanlike Conduct Penalty

Referee Larry Farina defended his call in a statement given to Washington coaches. "After scoring the touchdown, the player threw the ball into the air and we are required, by rule, to assess a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. It is a celebration rule that we are required to call. It was not a judgment call."

15 Yard Penalty

Brian Grummell of Fanhouse agrees with the outraged sports reporters. He says, "Part of the massive appeal of college football is the raw emotion and boundless energy of the players and coaches. There are certainly questionable celebrations that taunt and embarrass opponents or draw unnecessary attention to the player. This wasn't that kind of celebration however, and in my view Washington was unfairly punished in a manner that led directly to their defeat."

Blocked Extra Point

It is mistake to assume that the penalty cost Washington a victory. The extra point was blocked. Washington could have prevented that if they protected their kicker better. There is no evidence that the kick would have been successful if it was tried 15 yards closer. It Washington did make the extra point it would have sent the game into overtime. Either team could have won in overtime.

Excessive Celebration Rule

Sports commentators are like political commentators. If they don't have anything controversial to talk about they don't have anything to talk about. The TV reporters are out of line criticizing the officials. The referee in the Washington-BYU game made a call according to the way the rules are written. Saying the referee is "pathetic" and should have ignored the rule is ridiculous and borderline unethical.

The sports commentators seem to have a problem with the NCAA excessive celebration rule itself. The criticism should then be leveled against the rule, not the referees. The NCAA might respond to that criticism and change the rule next season.

Sep 7, 2008 9:42 AM

Guest :

Excellent article. Whether players agree with the celebration rules or not, they must follow them at every point in the game.

Sep 8, 2008 1:26 PM

Guest :

Locker was penalized according to the rules. Kent, do you agree with the NCAA rule or should it be changed? In your opinion did Locker's reaction to a game-tying touchdown deserve a 15 yard penalty?

Sep 8, 2008 3:08 PM

Kent Ninomiya :

I think it is a badly worded rule. I support reducing showboating and taunting, but a spontaneous throwing of the ball shouldn't be penalized. That being said, the referees had no choice but to enforce the rule as written. If referees had the freedom to enforce whatever rules they felt like while ignoring others there might as well be no rules at all. My only point was that the media should criticize the rule not the refs who were doing their job.

Jan 15, 2009 1:34 AM

Guest :

I can see you point, but, look at it from the viewpoint of Jake Locker, your down by a touchdown with 2 seconds left, and you, by the skin of your teeth, run the ball in for a touchdown to bring yourself back to within 1 point. Now, I dont know about you, but I would sure as hell be excited, I would be pumped.....by throwing the ball into the air, this was an act of spontaneous emotion, not a choreographed act. The ref had to walk no farther to retrieve the ball than if Locker had just set the ball on the ground. According to the 2008 NCAA Football rules and interpretations, the only rule Locker broke was throwing the ball into the air, why yes, he did break that rule, I would like to see you try to contain yourself in a moment of excitement like that. I love to watch college football, and during this years bowl games, I myself have seen numerous times when the same act had been committed by other teams and players, at ties not as exciting as this one, and the refs dont call a thing. Im sure if you are to go back and look at games from the BCS, you will see numerous times when a Celebration foul should have been called, but it wasnt. I can think of a couple of instances in the BCS bowl chapionship game when Tebow should have been called for Excessive celebration....but he wasnt.....

I play baseball, and I know when I do something, or someone else, be it they are on are team or not, do something which puts them back into the game, it is nearly impossible to control your emotions.

In my opinion, the penalty did cost the Huskies the game, while if the Husky Offensive line had held, the ball would not have been blocked, but, if the line had failed and we had not recieved the 15 yard penalty, the ball would probably not been blocked. Its physics, if you want the ball to go farther, you need to have it at a straighter trajectory, closer to the ground. Without the penalty, the ball would have been kicked at a higher angle, and would have most likely gone above the heads of the defensive line.