AUSTIN, Texas — On Saturday during the Georgia vs. Texas game, hundreds of students threw trash onto the field at Darrel K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium after a questionable call by the referees that was later reversed. On Sunday, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) imposed a $250,000 fine against the University of Texas at Austin and told UT administrators that they would need to ban students who threw trash onto the field.
On Sunday, Barstool Longhorn shared a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that appeared to show a text from UT to a student, stating that the student would have their Big Ticket revoked as a result of being identified as one of the people who threw items during the game.
But was that text real? Let’s VERIFY.
THE QUESTION
Is UT sending out text messages revoking tickets from students who threw trash on the field?
THE SOURCES
- Mike Rosen, assistant vice president for University Communications at the University of Texas at Austin
THE ANSWER
No, no text messages have gone out to any Texas fans.
WHAT WE FOUND
While UT is currently investigating and plans on taking punitive actions against students who threw trash on the field during the game, the text messages are not legitimate.
Mike Rosen, the assistant vice president for University Communications at UT, shared a letter from UT President Jay Hartzell to students in which Hartzell expressed his offense at the “profoundly disappointing moment.”
“This was only our third conference game as a new member of the SEC, so our fellow SEC institutions are just getting to know us. These actions made a bad early impression on Georgia and our new conference colleagues, and harmed your University’s reputation before a national audience,” Hartzell wrote.
Hartzell said in the letter that UT will “use all means available” to identify those who threw items on the field and “revoke those students’ ticket privileges to all athletic events for the remainder of the academic year.” However, Rosen confirmed to KVUE that “the text messages are not legit.”