Police arrested 12 students and ejected 18 at Saturday’s Badger football game, some of the lowest numbers officials have seen all season.
Games with the highest number of arrests were this season’s night games against University of Nevada-Las Vegas on Sept. 1, with 18 students arrested and 39 ejected, and the Badger’s Big Ten welcoming game against the Nebraska Corn Huskers on Oct. 1, with 26 student arrests and 43 ejections.
Night games historically cause more alcohol-related problems because no matter what time the game starts, according to police, tailgating in Madison usually starts at around 9 a.m.
Most arrests and ejections stem from underage drinking, possession of alcohol, fighting and throwing objects.
According to Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, many individuals draw the attention of police “not what they are doing to others, but because of the state they are in.”
“If [a student] is having trouble standing or walking, it’s not unusual to be detox conveyances,” he said.
There are thousands of students at football games, Verveer said, and overall there have not been any “real” problems for decades.
He said that back in in the 1980’s, “when the Badgers were lousy,” students threw bleachers off the side of the stadium and students would body surf in the stands.
