Sep 4, 2006 6:19 pm US/Mountain
Hawkins Would Forfeit Games If Fans Get Rowdy
by Jodi Brooks
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) ―
A warning for University of Colorado football fans as the Buffaloes have kicked off their season. The new coach tells fans to play nice.
A national televised game against Nebraska last season saw students hurl trash onto the field. If this happens again, new CU head coach Dan Hawkins said he'll forfeit the game.
"I think after last year people realized what not to do," CU student Jordan Stoddard said.
"Ultimately if it gets that bad, and it's that embarrassing to everybody around here, then maybe we ought to just pack it in and say we forgot what the whole thing's about," Hawkins said.
CU has banned a number of items into the stadium this year, including marshmallows.
"It's because people put quarters in them, ball bearings in them, and batteries in them," CU spokesperson Barry Hartman said. "And they throw them."
Three hundred and thirty private security people have been hired and the CU Police Department also has a game plan.
"There are a number of different steps that we've taken on the security side of things that we're really not going to discuss openly," Lieutenant Tim McGraw of the CU Police said.
Fans say they are ready for football, and a new reputation.
Hawkins even said if he has to go into the stands himself, he will. He said he's serious about turning this football program around on all levels.
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