LarryD
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Students lit bonfires, threw bottles, climbed onto business roofs and shot
off fireworks after Maryland beat Indiana in the NCAA championship game Monday night.
One student was cut badly when he was hit in the head with a bottle, and another was tackled by
an ice cream shop employee after trying to ram a police barricade through the shop's window.
Police were deployed in force, hoping to avoid a repeat of the violence Saturday night after
Maryland's semifinal victory over Kansas. They promised to "aggressively arrest" people who
refused to disperse.
Last year, several homes were broken into and furniture was dragged into the street to fuel
bonfires after Maryland's loss to Duke in the Final Four. One fire caused an estimated $500,000 in
damage and disrupted cable service when it burned through a fiber optic line.
With students back from spring break Monday, officials feared postgame celebrations could be
even wilder than Saturday, when police in riot gear squared off against a crowd of about 2,000
students.
Fans also threw beer bottles, ripped down street signs, broke store windows and trashed two
police cruisers during the three-hour melee that spilled into early Sunday morning. Police, who
drove students from the streets around 1 a.m. using pepper spray, arrested two people.
Hundreds of red-clad fans filled the seats at Cole Field House on Monday for the last Maryland
game seen at the historic arena, watching the game on a huge television screen. Cole is slated to be
replaced next season by a larger building.
Fans mobbed the floor as it became clear in the last few minutes that Maryland was going to win,
but the scene was joyous and not raucous.
In downtown College Park, city workers removed street signs Monday afternoon along with
"anything that could be used as a missile," according to Joe Nagro, the city's deputy public works
director.
School officials also planned to enforce a recent change in the university's code of conduct, which
allows the school to discipline any students who are arrested off campus for misdemeanors.
Several students were arrested on misdemeanor charges after last year's Final Four incident, but
the school's code of conduct only allowed punishment for felonies, Cathcart said.
"The university will take very seriously any actions by students that are illegal," Cathcart said.
off fireworks after Maryland beat Indiana in the NCAA championship game Monday night.
One student was cut badly when he was hit in the head with a bottle, and another was tackled by
an ice cream shop employee after trying to ram a police barricade through the shop's window.
Police were deployed in force, hoping to avoid a repeat of the violence Saturday night after
Maryland's semifinal victory over Kansas. They promised to "aggressively arrest" people who
refused to disperse.
Last year, several homes were broken into and furniture was dragged into the street to fuel
bonfires after Maryland's loss to Duke in the Final Four. One fire caused an estimated $500,000 in
damage and disrupted cable service when it burned through a fiber optic line.
With students back from spring break Monday, officials feared postgame celebrations could be
even wilder than Saturday, when police in riot gear squared off against a crowd of about 2,000
students.
Fans also threw beer bottles, ripped down street signs, broke store windows and trashed two
police cruisers during the three-hour melee that spilled into early Sunday morning. Police, who
drove students from the streets around 1 a.m. using pepper spray, arrested two people.
Hundreds of red-clad fans filled the seats at Cole Field House on Monday for the last Maryland
game seen at the historic arena, watching the game on a huge television screen. Cole is slated to be
replaced next season by a larger building.
Fans mobbed the floor as it became clear in the last few minutes that Maryland was going to win,
but the scene was joyous and not raucous.
In downtown College Park, city workers removed street signs Monday afternoon along with
"anything that could be used as a missile," according to Joe Nagro, the city's deputy public works
director.
School officials also planned to enforce a recent change in the university's code of conduct, which
allows the school to discipline any students who are arrested off campus for misdemeanors.
Several students were arrested on misdemeanor charges after last year's Final Four incident, but
the school's code of conduct only allowed punishment for felonies, Cathcart said.
"The university will take very seriously any actions by students that are illegal," Cathcart said.
