UPDATE DEC. 16: UNLV football student-athletes Evan Austrie, Noah Bean, Giovanni Fauolo Sr. and Justin Polu are being issued suspensions, according to a spokesperson for the Mountain West Conference.
Steve Jenkins has also been issued a public reprimand for violations of Mountain West Rule 4 – Sportsmanship.
This announcement stems from a UNLV-Nevada football postgame altercation on Nov. 30.
Fauolo will serve a two-game suspension, Austrie and Bean will serve a one-game suspension, and Polu is suspended for a half of a game.
Fauolo's suspension will be for the first two games of the 2020 season, while Bean will miss UNLV's 2020 season opener, according to the MWC.
Since Austrie and Polu have exhausted their college eligibility, the Mountain West will defer to UNLV for appropriate disciplinary action.
The provisions of the MW Sportsmanship Policy can be found in the MW HandbookMW Handbook online.
UNLV Director of Athletics Desiree Reed-Francois also released the following statement:
“We appreciate the Mountain West’s comprehensive review of the postgame incident in Reno. The appeal process is complete and we accept the final decisions. We are moving on and look forward to celebrating what is a great college football rivalry each and every year.”
ORIGINAL STORY
NEVADA (KTNV) -- Four football players from University of Nevada are being suspended for their actions after a game against UNLV on Nov. 30. They are being issued suspensions for violations of the Mountain West Rule 4 -- Sportsmanship.
The Nevada students are Austin Arnold, Daniel Brown, Hausia Sekon and Gabriel Sewell.
Arnold will serve a two-game suspension, Brown and Sekona will serve a one-game suspension and Sewell is suspended for one-half game.
All suspensions are effective for the Wolf Pack's Jan. 3 game against Ohio in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Arnold will also miss the first game of the season.
The Mountain West Conference is still looking into UNLV's actions that day. They expect that part of the investigation to be completed next week.
Additionally, Nevada's University Police Services has been reviewing the footage and is looking for 4 fans from the game that interacted with the players.
“It is very concerning to have fans physically engaging with student-athletes,” University Chief of Police Todd Renwick, said. “Police Services would like to remind all fans that touching or throwing objects at athletes is completely unacceptable, dangerous and is also a crime.”
Members with information about the fans are asked to contact Police Services at 775-784-4013 or email unrpd@unr.edu.
University Athletics acknowledges the report issued Dec. 10, 2019 by the Mountain West office and will comply with the sanctions issued to the student-athletes involved.
“The Mountain West conducted a thorough review of the incident and we are appreciative of their efforts and accept their findings,” University Athletics Director Doug Knuth, said. “We are disappointed for the seniors who will miss their final game playing for the Wolf Pack. Our football program is moving forward with preparations for the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Internally, we continue to support the reviews of the incident from our Office of Student Conduct and University Police Services, and we are exploring all avenues to prevent a recurrence of this incident and improve the gameday experience for everyone.”
In addition to University Athletics’ efforts, the University’s Office of Student Conduct will review the incident.
The University’s Office of Student Conduct has been made aware of the sanctions and is reviewing the incident to determine if a violation of the University’s Student Code of Conduct possibly occurred,” Assistant Dean of Student Conduct Kimberly Woods, said. “University student conduct records are confidential as part of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), therefore findings from these investigations will not be shared publicly.”
UNLV defeated Nevada with a final score of 33-30 during the annual rivalry game.
