SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) — UC Santa Barbara men’s basketball coach Bob Williams has apologized to Hawaii coach Gib Arnold for an incident in which a fan went on court and confronted Arnold during a game against the Gauchos.
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) — UC Santa Barbara men’s basketball coach Bob Williams has apologized to Hawaii coach Gib Arnold for an incident in which a fan went on court and confronted Arnold during a game against the Gauchos.
The school’s athletic department said Friday it has apologized to Hawaii athletic director Ben Jay and Big West Conference Commissioner Dennis Farrell for what happened in the first half of Thursday night’s victory by UCSB.
The department says the safety of student-athletes, staff and fans is important and it is reviewing the incident and “solidifying event protocol” in hopes of preventing a repeat in the future.
A male UCSB fan ran on the court and confronted Arnold while the coach was arguing a call that went against Hawaii. Two Hawaii players pushed the fan away from the coach.
UCSB officials confirmed Friday that the fan had been arrested.
However, the school provided no other details and a spokesman for the campus police didn’t immediately return phone calls Friday.