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Steve Sarkisian Explains Why He Stopped Texas Players Celebrating on Texas A&M Logo

The Texas coach was seen chasing down players who ran to the logo.

Madison Williams

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian celebrates a win over Texas A&M with his team.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian celebrates a win over Texas A&M with his team. / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
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After Texas beat Texas A&M 17–7 in the rivalry game, some Longhorns players wanted to celebrate on the Aggies' logo at Kyle Field. However, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian quickly stopped this from happening.

In a video caught by CBS Austin's Bob Ballou, Sarkisian can be seen chasing down the players who were running to the logo in the middle of the field waving his arms to get them to stop.

Chaos was averted, but it left some questioning why Sarkisian wouldn't want his players to celebrate on the logo, as many teams do when winning a major rivalry game.

Sarkisian explained his actions in his postgame interview, citing what happened earlier that day at the Ohio State–Michigan game as his main reasoning. That rivalry game ended in a huge brawl when Michigan planted its flag on Ohio State's field, and some players were pepper sprayed by police. Sarkisian didn't want this to happen on his watch.

"Rivalries are great, but there’s a way to win it with class, and I just didn’t think that’s the right thing to do. We shouldn’t be on their logo. We shouldn’t be planting any flags on their logo,” Sarkisian said. “And I’d like to, whenever that day comes, get the same respect in return.

"I just think there’s a way we try to teach our players how to go about our business. We celebrate with one another. It’s not about any other team. It’s about what we do. And I think there’s a way to win with class and I’m hopeful that we can continue to learn how to do that.”

The Longhorns found other ways to celebrate the big win, including in the locker room after they left the field. Texas ended the regular season with an 11–1 record and now awaits the College Football Playoff.

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Madison Williams
MADISON WILLIAMS

Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University. She is a dog mom and an avid reader.

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