- The Big 12 fined Colorado $50,000 for inappropriate chants against BYU.
- Chants included expletives targeting BYU and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- Colorado's officials apologized Big 12 maintains zero tolerance for such behavior.
PROVO — A precedent has been set for Big 12 teams that continue to use a profane chant directed at BYU and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints moving forward.
The Big 12 announced Tuesday morning that it has levied a $50,000 fine and publicly reprimanded the University of Colorado for the use of what it called an "inappropriate" chant by several fans about the Cougars and its sponsoring institution.
The chant, one of at least six that has spread across the country during BYU football and men's basketball games since 2021, could be heard over the ESPN broadcast on at least one occasion, with some half-dozen attempts at calls for "(expletive) BYU" and "(expletive) the Mormons" easily audible among the fans at Folsom Field during then-No. 25 BYU's 24-21 win over the Buffaloes.
The Big 12 referred to the chant as a violation of the league's principles and standards of sportsmanship, officials said in a short statement released Tuesday morning. Colorado's chancellor and athletic director apologized and condemned the "expletives and religious slurs" used during the game in a statement late Sunday night.
"Hateful and discriminatory language has no home in the Big 12 Conference," Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said. "While we appreciate Colorado apologizing for the chants that occurred in the stands during Saturday's game, the Big 12 maintains zero tolerance for such behavior."
Colorado athletic director Rick George released a statement in response to the league action saying the school "respect the conference's decision, and we take responsibility for the behavior exhibited at the game."
"On behalf of our athletic department and the university, I want to apologize to BYU and the entire Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints community," he said. "Chancellor Schwartz and I also apologized personally to our counterparts at BYU on Saturday night and again on Sunday.
"The behavior by those fans who chanted was appalling, is unacceptable, and is not indicative of the values we strive for at CU," George added. "We must do better and we will. In collaboration with our campus stakeholders, we are currently reviewing our policies with respect to fan behavior to ensure that Folsom Field is a welcoming place for every fan and that those who do not live up to our standards are held accountable. When we implement those changes, we will communicate them publicly. Any patron who is found to have violated our fan code of conduct, including engaging in derogatory chants, will face a series of consequences up to and including a ban from future home games."
Previous uses of the chant — or a similar one therein — had been captured from coast to coast since 2021, including at in-state rival Utah, USC, Oregon and Stanford in football, as well as Providence and Arizona in men's basketball. In most cases, the universities were swift to condemn the actions of the individuals expressing the rhetoric.
Colorado coach Deion Sanders said he wasn't aware of the chants immediately following Saturday night's game. But Coach Prime took time following his mid-week media availability Tuesday to address the situation upon learning of it.
"I know there was an incident at the conclusion of the game on Saturday, and on behalf of CU and on behalf of our athletic department, we would like to apologize to our opponents from a week ago for whatever derogatory statements that were made by our fans," Sanders said. "That's not indicative of who we are; our student body and our kids are phenomenal. Don't indict us just based on a group of young kids that probably were intoxicated and high simultaneously. Maybe I shouldn't have said that as well, but the truth will make you free.
"BYU, we love you, we appreciate you, and we support you," he added. "God bless."
No. 23 BYU hosts West Virginia on Friday at LaVell Edwards Stadium (8:30 p.m. MDT, ESPN).
