Wisconsin establishes new guidelines for fans attending football games at Camp Randall

The University of Wisconsin will prohibit nooses and ropes from home athletic events as part of revised standards being put in place after a fan wore an offensive costume to a football game.

The school said Wednesday in a statement that nooses and ropes will be treated as weapons that “constitute a threat to safety.”

The fan behavior, carry-in and ticket policies were revised to read, in part, that “Any person who engages in violent, threatening, abusive or otherwise disorderly conduct which tends to provoke a disturbance or incite violence will be ejected from our events.”

A fan wore what appeared to be a President Barack Obama mask with a noose around its neck to the Badgers’ game on Oct. 29 against Nebraska. Security officers asked the man to remove the noose in the first but a photo taken later shows him wearing the noose again.

The changes will go into effect starting this weekend, including the seventh-ranked Badgers’ game on Saturday against Illinois. The revisions were made after meetings between athletic department staff and community leaders.

“What happened at Camp Randall two weeks ago goes against everything we stand for,” Athletic Director Barry Alvarez said. “I am very pleased that we all were able to work together to improve our policies. It is great to be able to talk, and even more satisfying that we took action.”

University officials had defended security staff’s decision not to throw the man out given freedom of speech concerns.

Georgia Tech suspends Mills

Georgia Tech freshman Dedrick Mills, the team’s leading rusher with 578 yards and 10 touchdowns despite missing two games, has been suspended for two games for an undisclosed violation of team rules.

The suspension, announced by Coach Paul Johnson on Wednesday, is the second of the season for Mills. He also was held out of Georgia Tech’s home opener against Mercer on Sept. 10, also for a violation of team rules and missed another game because of injury.

Mills will miss Saturday’s game at No. 18 Virginia Tech and a Nov. 19 game against Virginia. Those are the Yellow Jackets’ final two Atlantic Coast Conference games. He will be eligible to play against Georgia on Nov. 26.

Etc.

The University of California is set to conduct a new review of the football team’s strength and conditioning program, which was evaluated two years ago after defensive lineman Ted Agu died following a strenuous team workout. The San Francisco Chronicle says the review comes after it reported conflicts of interest in the first review. The newspaper says the evaluators chosen for that review had ties to football staff members and allowed staff to choose the athletes who would be interviewed. Their report gave the strength and conditioning program high marks. …

Georgia State received approval Wednesday to purchase Turner Field for $22.8 million, clearing the way to convert the former home of the Atlanta Braves into a downsized college football stadium. The Panthers, members of the Sun Belt Conference, plan to move into the stadium next season after playing at the much larger Georgia Dome since the program was launched in 2010.