A pocket knife was allegedly thrown from a Texas Tech fan and struck a Kansas staff member during Saturday’s football game between the Kansas Jayhawks and the Texas Tech Red Raiders. The incident, confirmed by Texas Tech officials, has prompted an investigation into fan behavior at the event. Kansas head coach Lance Leipold expressed his frustration with the situation, calling the act of throwing objects onto the playing field ‘ridiculous’ and warning that it ‘could eventually lead to someone being seriously hurt.’
Leipold noted that the school has long struggled with fan conduct, with the practice of throwing tortillas onto the field being a longstanding tradition at the event. While Texas Tech officials recently voted 15-1 to ban the tossing of tortillas, the incident has raised questions about the effectiveness of these measures. Leipold lamented that the culture of fan behavior had not changed, despite the new rules in place, and that the situation had not been adequately addressed by authorities. He also criticized Big 12 officials for handling the object-throwing issue ‘poorly,’ suggesting that the league needs to take stronger steps to enforce safety regulations.
The incident has also led to a formal review of the game day video by Texas Tech, which has placed the knife into the hands of its police department for further investigation. Red Raiders head coach Joey McGuire, who was also present at the game, acknowledged the issue and called for improved behavior from fans. McGuire stated, ‘We’ve got a new rule in this league, we know the rule, we didn’t follow it, and we got penalized for it… We gotta be better. We gotta do a better job, and we will.’ The Red Raiders were issued two 15-yard penalties for fan behavior during the game.
While the incident does not have any direct financial implications, it has sparked a broader conversation about on-field safety and fan conduct in college football. The event has highlighted the need for stronger enforcement of existing rules and a cultural shift in how fans treat the game. As the Red Raiders prepare for their next game against Arizona State, the focus remains on ensuring that such incidents are minimized in the future. The incident also brings into question the effectiveness of current measures to prevent fan behavior that can endanger players and staff, with calls for stricter penalties and better crowd management being the likely next steps for the league.