[Ref in PA]

Since I have become a "patched" basketball official in PA, there have been two times when the gym has been cleared except for the players and coaches. The teams were rivals and fights occurred at the game between fans. The teams played their games without fans the following year. This sent a message to the fans in my opinion and they have behaved in subsequent years. There will probably be more incidents in the future between rival schools but in the mean time this has controled the problem.

Barring fans sends a message on a couple of different levels. The community, parents, students all get the message. A financial message is also sent - no revenue from gate or concessions.

In the case of Washington state, the judgement of fan behavior will be highly subjective. And should they censure fans at contests because of questionable fan behavior, Washington would need consistancy among those judging the behavior. Achieving that consistancy will be no small task.