When the University of New Hampshire lost to the University of Minnesota in the college hockey championship on April 12, a crowd of 4,000 revelers gathered in Durham, New Hampshire, resulting in 87 arrests and $12,200 in damage.
That same night at the University of Minnesota, about 2,000 took to the streets and caused more than $40,000 in damage.
About 48 people were arrested when The Ohio State University students rioted last November after the school defeated the University of Michigan in football.
"It didn't get this way overnight," said Daniel Wann, a psychology professor at Murray State University, who will speak later this month to a University of New Hampshire conference aimed at finding solutions to the epidemic of postgame rioting.
The Sept. 19-21 "Student Summit" at the University of New Hampshire will be the first major conference that brings together student and university leaders nationwide to discuss riotous behavior.
Student and administrative leaders from several universities that have struggled with postgame disturbances, including MSU, Ohio State, Minnesota, Rhode Island and Connecticut, are planning to attend.
"A number of different parties are getting on the same page and saying 'enough is enough,'" said Wann, who has studied sports fans and spectators for about 20 years. "Things are getting out of hand, people are getting hurt, property is getting damaged - now let's sit down and see what we can do."
MSU is planning to send a delegation of five students and three administrators to the New Hampshire conference, said Janet Lillie, assistant dean for undergraduate education in Communication Arts and Sciences.
During MSU's March 28-30 disturbances, thousands of revelers took to the streets of East Lansing, causing about $40,000 in damage, which resulted in more than 30 arrests.
"It is definitely not an MSU exclusive problem," said Lillie, who will attend the conference. "We are finding that a lot of schools are having these kinds of incidents, produced by celebration after sporting events."
MSU delegate Kevin Glandon said he hopes to leave with new ideas about how students can stop riots from taking place.
"To actually be able to talk with representatives from other colleges, it is a whole new level of interaction and that is good for the community," said Glandon, the vice-chairperson for external affairs for ASMSU.
During the three-day conference, which was spurred by the April disturbance at the University of New Hampshire, delegates will participate in several discussions and seminars about rioting.
"We are talking to each other and talking to law enforcement about this trend in student behavior and how we can shift it to more responsible celebrations," said Kim Billings, a spokeswoman for the University of New Hampshire.
Another conference will be held at The Ohio State University and co-hosted by the University of Minnesota and the U.S. Department of Justice on Nov. 20-21.
Barbara Rich, OSU's assistant vice president for student affairs, said organizers are hoping about 120 people attend the conference, which includes city officials.
"We are hoping that those who come will be able to go back to their communities with a sense of mutual respect," said Rich, adding she is concerned postgame riots have taken on a "new dimension" in recent years.
"It is resurfacing and rearing a very ugly head to the point we are now causing personal damage and property damage," she said. "You lose the sense of team spirit when it relates to the games."
Administrators in February attended a conference held by the NCAA in Dallas that ignited a year-long discussion amongst several universities about combating sports-related disruptions.
Laronica Conway, a spokeswoman for the NCAA, said the Dallas conference helped universities begin breaking down the dimensions of game-related rioting.
"This is a great start with the summit," she said. "Hopefully this will bring some awareness and we can pay close attention to the issues out there."
