ASU Athletics: Pac-12 announces court storming fines, changes to late night football schedules

The Pac-12 conference just wrapped up its annual end of year board meetings and the league announced several decisions Tuesday afternoon, ranging from television schedules to new court storming fines.

Perhaps most relevant to Arizona State is changes to the league's television contracts with ESPN and FOX. In the past, the network would usually have at least one late night Saturday game, sometimes starting as late as 11 p.m. ET as well as a game on Pac-12 Networks that would begin at 10 p.m. ET.

Of course, this is where the phrase #Pac12AfterDark was coined because of the wackiness of some of the late night games. However, some coaches as well as fans on the east coast complained about the late starts.

The conference announced that games on the Pac-12 Networks can now start at either 2:30 p.m. or 6 p.m. and overlap with games on ESPN and FOX. This will reduce the number of football games on Pac-12 Networks that begin at 7 p.m.

The other major change that was announced was a new fine system for court/field storming. Starting in the 2016-2017 academic year, Pac-12 institutions will be fined $25,000 for a first offense, $50,000 for a second offense and $100,000 for a third offense.

It will be interesting to see what lengths schools go to in order to stop fans from rushing the court, especially in basketball. Stoping thousands of students from rushing a field/court after a game may prove more dangerous than just allowing them to celebrate.

The final measure approved was new commitment to eSports. Starting next academic year, the Pac-12 Networks will begin airing eSports competitions involving member schools. This includes a potential Pac-12 eSports Championship event.

Here's hoping they stage the first Pac-12 eSports Tournament in Las Vegas.

Thoughts on the new changes coming to the conference next year? Let your voice be heard in the comment section below.