The Big 12 fined UCF $100,000 after fans aimed derogatory chants at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during a game against BYU. The conference has also established a policy that sets an automatic minimum $100,000 fine and warning after a first confirmed incident. A second incident at the same game can bring an in-game penalty, and the league says a $500,000 fine may also be levied. Fans removed from games for this conduct can be barred from athletic events for the rest of the school year and may face university conduct policies. The conference says UCF’s fine will fund student education initiatives.
TLDR: UCF was fined $100,000 after fans directed derogatory chants at the Latter-day Saint church during a game against BYU. New Big 12 rules set escalating penalties, including possible larger fines, in-game sanctions, and school-year bans for ejected fans.
The Big 12 Conference has fined the University of Central Florida $100,000 after fans directed derogatory chants at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during last weekend’s football game against BYU. The league also announced a conference-wide conduct policy with escalating consequences for discriminatory conduct. The decision establishes a clear standard for schools and fans across the conference.
The league’s stated rationale is straightforward: discriminatory conduct “has no place in the Big 12.” A consistent rule and defined penalties make that position concrete. The fine against UCF will go toward student education initiatives, according to the conference. The league’s explanation ties the new policy to conduct at games, rather than leaving each school to decide on its own whether a response is needed.
Video shared on social media showed UCF fans chanting an anti-Mormon insult before kickoff on Saturday. University security removed some fans from the game, which UCF won in overtime. The conference’s response adds financial and in-game consequences to the removal of fans who engage in such conduct. Those responses address different parts of the incident: the school faces a fine, while individuals can be removed and barred from future events.
Under the new policy, a first confirmed incident brings an automatic minimum fine of $100,000 and a warning. A second incident during the same game brings an in-game penalty. The league cited a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty in football or a two-shot technical foul in basketball as examples. It also said a $500,000 fine may be levied. The policy sets out these consequences across the conference, giving schools a shared set of stated penalties rather than a case-by-case starting point.
Fans ejected for this conduct will be barred from attending athletic events for the rest of the school year. They may also face the university’s fan or student conduct policies. The conference has thus set consequences for both the institution and the individual fan, with the size and form of the response increasing after a confirmed repeat incident. The conference policy and a school’s own conduct rules can both apply to an individual fan, according to the announced terms.
The rules limit the freedom of fans to use targeted chants at games and give the conference a more direct role in setting expectations for member schools. That is a practical tradeoff in the league’s approach: less room for conduct that targets a religious group, and more responsibility placed on schools to manage behavior in their venues. The penalty structure makes that responsibility easier to identify, even as it carries costs for institutions and can affect play on the field or court. The examples also make clear that a repeat incident can affect the game itself, not only the school’s finances or a fan’s access.
The UCF fine follows earlier Big 12 responses to incidents involving BYU and the church. Oklahoma State was fined $50,000 in February after inappropriate chants during a men’s basketball game against BYU. Colorado received a $50,000 fine a year ago after similar chants at a football game. Colorado State apologized in September after fans targeted BYU and the church with derogatory chants. Those cases show that the conference has addressed related conduct before, while the newly announced policy sets out a conference-wide penalty structure.
Other reported incidents did not result in fines. Similar conduct occurred at an Arizona men’s basketball game during the 2024-25 season and at a Cincinnati football game in November 2025. Neither school was fined. The new conference-wide policy supplies a stated minimum penalty for a first confirmed incident, replacing uncertainty about whether a school will face a fine in such cases. It also gives schools, fans, and officials a clearer account of what may follow a confirmed incident.
The practical impact is direct for Big 12 schools, fans, and game officials. UCF faces a $100,000 fine directed to student education initiatives; the policy sets a minimum $100,000 fine and warning for a first confirmed incident, possible in-game penalties for a second incident at the same game, and a possible $500,000 fine. Ejected fans can be barred from athletic events for the remainder of the school year and may face university conduct rules. The excerpt identifies no forms, payment deadline, or separate compliance timetable, so those details remain unspecified. Schools have stated consequences to consider, but the announcement does not give them a separate filing process or date for meeting requirements.
UCF athletics spokesman Adam Widman said the university would review its options after learning of the conference’s decision. The Big 12 has established the policy and its consequences; no additional oversight schedule or deadline is stated. Applying the rules to future confirmed incidents is the next necessary step for compliance. The conference has set the standard, and its defined penalties provide the framework for enforcement.
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