UC Santa Barbara apologizes for incident

UC Santa Barbara officials issued a statement on Friday apologizing for the odd occurrence during Thursday’s men’s basketball game against Hawaii, when a UCSB student ran onto the court and confronted Hawaii coach Gib Arnold.

The statement read as follows:

“On behalf of the UCSB student-athletes and staff we are disappointed and saddened by the singular act of a student during the first half of last night’s men’s basketball game versus Hawai’i. We have apologized to Hawai’i athletics director Ben Jay and Big West Commissioner Dennis Farrell. Head Coach Bob Williams also apologized to Hawai’i head coach Gib Arnold on behalf of the department.

“The safety of all student-athletes, coaches and fans is paramount to us and we are reviewing the night and solidifying event protocol in hopes of preventing any one person from repeating this incident.

“This one person’s selfish act does not represent the passionate atmosphere our students display. We also note there were no incidents before, during or after the game by the students or anyone else. We have great respect for Hawai’i, its fans and student-athletes. In particular, we appreciate that the UH players and coaching staff handled the situation with class when engaging the student.”

UCSB provided no specific information regarding possible penalties against the student who came onto the floor, nor was the need for additional security addressed.