Arizona State field storming penalty: Big 12 issues massive fine for wild on-field incident against BYU

The Arizona State Sun Devils, under coach Kenny Dillingham, have seen a massive improvement in their form after being projected as the Big 12's bottom team by ESPN in the preseason. The No. 21 Sun Devils pulled off one of the biggest upsets in college football during Week 13 action, defeating the No. 14 BYU Cougars 28-23 on Saturday.

Sun Devils fans stormed the field at Mountain American Stadium twice in the game. The first time was when quarterback Sam Leavitt threw an incomplete pass with the clock showing 0:00, but officials ruled there was one second left to play. After the goalposts had even been taken down, fans were cleared off the field following a 14-minute delay to allow the Cougars to play out the remaining second. However, after that play, fans stormed the field once again.

On Monday, the Big 12 announced a $25,000 fine for Arizona State in a statement addressing the field storming incident.

"In accordance with the Big 12 Conference Principles and Standards of Sportsmanship, the Conference has issued a public reprimand and $25,000 fine of Arizona State University for the field storming incident that occurred during Saturday’s football game against BYU," the statement read.

Outspoken Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark also addressed the field storming incident, stressing that the conference was collaborating with institutions to find a solution to the fans' frequent invasion of fields.

"The safety of student-athletes and all game participants is our foremost priority," said Commissioner Brett Yormark. "We will continue to work with our institutions on event management policies at all Big 12 venues."

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Arizona State fine to be covered by donor

In an interview with "Arizona Sports' Bickley & Marotta," Arizona State Sun Devils athletic director Graham Rossini announced that the fine levied by the Big 12 against the program would be covered by a donor.

“We had a donor step up to cover that fine so we’re moving forward,” Rossini said. “But it’s a call to action for any Sun Devil who was on the field, you got a responsibility to your university, get on SunAngels.org, give to our collective and let’s use that as a positive.”

The Arizona State fans will not care about the fine levied against their team with the Sun Devils still in with a chance of making the Big 12 conference championship game and possibly the lofty heights of a spot in the college football playoffs.