A University of Connecticut football player, tailback...

A University of Connecticut football player, tailback George Boothe, was charged with beating up a student patrolmen hours after his fumble gave Yale the opportunity it needed to defeat the Huskies Saturday, authorities said.

“He attacked a student patrolmen outside McMahon Hall (on the Connecticut campus) without provocation. The victim was repeatedly punched and kicked about the head and kidney area,” university police said.

Boothe, a sophomore who had scored 3 touchdowns and rushed for 161 yards in the 30-27 loss, was charged with second-degree assault, a felony, and released on $2,000 bond, police said. He was also suspended from school until the matter is resolved.

No reason was given for the attack, but police believe it was triggered by the issuance of a parking ticket by another campus patrolman to a friend of Boothe’s about a half an hour before the incident, Lt. Robert Parizeau said.