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With Sam Houston State's advancement to the playoffs, a new set of rules has been put into place to ensure that fans and players adhere to the NCAA's strict code of game time conduct.
The rules are as follows. Rule number one: No couch potato section. Students may come and tailgate, but the NCAA has stated no students may be in the areas behind the end zone.
Rule number two: No free admission for students. Students will have to pay to get into any of the NCAA playoff games, as the university is not allowed to give students free admission with their I.D.'s. However, according to Assistant Athletic Director Greg Hinze, the university is allowed to give students tickets at a discounted price of $5.
"I don't want a lot of students showing up at the gate with their I.D.s thinking that they will be able to get in. We worked very hard for [the NCAA] to allow us to give the students a discount," said Hinze.
Rule number three: no shooting the cannon. The color guard may be present to present the colors, but the cannon may not be fired after scoring a touchdown.
Rule number four: a maximum of 12 cheerleaders and/or pompom team members plus one mascot will be permitted per team.
Rule number five: bands, or any component thereof, are only allowed to play during timeouts, between games, at halftime, and before and after the competition.
Rule number six: each team's band will have a maximum of six minutes during halftime to perform. If a competing team's band is not available, the other band may use the time reserved for that band. The competing institutions must inform the sponsoring agency by noon on Wednesday prior to the game if their bands will be available to perform during halftime.
Rule number seven: no more than 30 sideline passes per team shall be provided. This means that players must have a sideline pass in reserve to be on the sideline with no exceptions.
Rule number eight: a section of seats directly behind the visiting team bench will be reserved exclusively for the visiting team fans. No home team students or fans will be permitted to sit in this section.
Hinze explained that these rules have been established in order to create a fair play environment. "Basically the NCAA is trying to create as neutral an environment as possible," said Hinze. "I would love for the couch potato section to be used, but I can understand the reason why it is not. This is not a home game, it is an NCAA game, though it does give us the advantage to play at home."
Hinze also encouraged as many fans to come out to Saturday's game, against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, as possible.
"Coach Randleman has stated on several occasions that it was the fan support that played a huge support in the team's success this year, and I encourage as many fans as possible to come out to the game on Saturday," he said.
Also, it has been reported that the dormitories will be opened early on Saturday to accommodate for students coming to Saturday's game.[/b]
