For all the positive traditions associated with intercollegiate athletics, there are others that have administrators concerned for the welfare and safety of their student-athletes, students and fans.

In recent years, there have been more and more incidents of fans being injured after football games because they stormed the field to celebrate a victory. In their fervor, these mobs often tear down goal posts, which can add danger to an already hazardous situation.

Last year, 150 representatives from intercollegiate athletics met in Dallas to convene a Sportsmanship and Fan Behavior Summit, in part to address these issues. While it was noted that this type of fan behavior seemed to be on the upswing, those in attendance concluded that there were no easy answers to the problem and it was something that needed ongoing review from the NCAA national office, conferences and individual institutions.

Taking it a step further, the Division I Football Issues Committee is suggesting that institutions look at collapsible goal posts as a means to at least alleviate some of the injuries that can occur from such behavior.

"We would encourage all institutions to take a look at the possibility of installing these types of collapsible goal posts in the interest of safety," said committee Chair Vince Dooley, director of athletics at the University of Georgia. "What we worry about is that it may take something tragic to really move people to give it the kind of attention it needs.

"I think it's a very serious issue -- a sportsmanship and safety issue -- and I think there's a need to continue to address it because it's a serious problem in intercollegiate athletics," he said.

Goal post technology

Goal posts that either can be collapsed or are considered indestructible have been around for more than a decade, but more schools have looked at the new technology in the past few years.

The University of Iowa is believed to be the first school to use collapsible goal posts, said Damian Simcox, director of athletics facilities for the university. He said Iowa developed the technology about 12 years ago because the goal posts had been torn down several games in a row and administrators wanted to stop the practice.

Simcox said it takes about 10 to 15 seconds for the goal posts to collapse safely. Since they've been installed at Iowa, the goal posts have never been torn down. Iowa, he said, has shared its secret with many other schools seeking similar solutions.

Steve Potratz, a senior mechanical engineer at Washington State University, said his school also came up with its own design for new goal posts. Washington State uses steel goal posts, held in the ground with concrete. Protratz said the posts have been up for about 10 years and have never come down -- even though students have tried to bring them to the ground.

Mark Nelson, general superintendent of Chicago-based Merchant's Environmental Industries, Inc., said his company has produced steel goal posts considered indestructible since about 1992. Northwestern University, he said, had asked the company to develop goal posts that would stand up to fans after the posts were torn down at a game and a student was hurt.

"Our goal posts are made of steel; generally they're aluminum," Nelson said. "Because of the properties of metal, steel doesn't snap. If you ever saw people tear down the goal posts, they'd usually be jumping on them for a bit and then they snap and that's where the problem comes in. They snap and people get hurt."

Dooley said his committee's concern with "indestructible" goal posts are that if fans are told they can not be torn down, too many will work hard to prove the description wrong.

"There was some concern that it's almost like a challenge," he said.

MEI has installed its goal posts at about 24 schools throughout the country, such as the University of Arizona, the University of Notre Dame, Iowa State University and Boston College. Nelson said their goal posts have come down only once -- at Kansas State University a couple of years ago when fans took cables, tied them to the top of the posts and worked for about an hour to bring them down.

Neil Gilman, president of Connecticut-based Gilman Gear, said his company has been manufacturing hinged goal posts since the fall of 2002.

"The impetus was the incidents of vandalism and violence after football games," he said. "We had to replace many goal posts that were torn down during the course of the season and schools were frustrated about having to buy new ones every time. So we looked for options that would discourage students from rushing the field in the first place."

Gilman said his hinged posts take about 20 seconds to come down. The hinge, he said, is not exposed and can't be easily manipulated by fans. The hinged posts are in place at the University of Kansas and at the University of Utah, he said, and other schools and conferences have contacted him about possible installations.

Though collapsible, steel or hinged posts are more expensive than traditional goal posts, which cost about $5,000. Athletics officials say it's well worth the price.

"Almost every year, after winning a particular game, we had fans come onto the field and tear down the goal posts," said Michael O'Brien, director of athletics at the University of Toledo and a member of the Division I Football Issues Committee. O'Brien noted that steel goal posts will be installed at his school before spring practice begins this year.

"It was simply time to see what we could do security-wise and then in turn install the permanent goal posts, because financially it simply wasn't making any sense, either," he said.

The next generation of goal posts

As with any product, there's always someone looking to improve upon what's on the market, and goal posts are no exception.

James Snider, the owner of a West Virginia construction company, is working on a new goal post that he says can come down in five or six seconds with the press of a button from a remote location. This design, he said, keeps security personnel out of harm's way.

Snider, who did not want to provide intricate details of his design while the full patent is pending, has received a provisional patent for his invention. He is forming a company called Powered Dynamic Goals to manufacture and install these posts.

A self-described football fan, former player and official, Snider said he's always liked building things and was inspired to create a better goal post after a West Virginia University football game.

"It's kind of ugly as a fan to see these possible injuries occurring," he said. "This (new goal post) is much safer, not only for the students, but also for the police officers and the facilities personnel."

Snider is talking with officials at Clemson University, which may be the first institution in the nation to install these new goal posts.

Katie Hill, senior associate athletics director at Clemson, said Snider has presented his design to her and other administrators and is planning to return this month with some suggested changes.

Whether Clemson goes with Snider's design or buys hinged posts from Gilman Gear, Hill said something new would definitely be in place before the start of next season.

"We had thought that some of the educational campaigns, some alcohol restrictions that we had put in place on our campus and things like that would be enough to remove the necessity for it," she said. "We were wrong."

Clemson fans have a long tradition of running onto the field after the game, Hill said. It's part of the cultural framework of the school and something that won't likely change.

"We just want to make the goal posts a non-issue," she said, noting fans have been injured when goal posts have come down at Clemson. "We've got a duty to our personnel to not only get them down so everyone else can be safe, but so that they can be safe, too."

Dooley said the Football Issues Committee would continue to address not only goal posts but also fan behavior that leads to violent incidents.

"It's something that needs to be constantly addressed," he said.

O'Brien agreed that the committee needs to continue reviewing the situation at college campuses around the country.

"There's no question that the committee will (continue to monitor the situation) because obviously we talk about the goal posts, but it's also an issue of sportsmanship and fan behavior," he said. "It's not something that we meet on once a year and forget about until there's an incident."

More Information

Merchants Environmental Industries, Inc. -- phone: 773/522-0600; e-mail: mei@ameritech.net; Web site: www.callmei.com.

Gilman Gear -- phone: 800/243-0398; e-mail: info@gilmangear.com; Web site: www.gilmangear.com.

University of Iowa, athletics facilities department -- phone: 319/335-9410.

Steve Potratz, Washington State University -- phone: 509/335-9300.