In September, brawling in the stands at a high school football game in Tulsa, Okla., led to several arrests, three people going to the hospital, and police using pepper spray to subdue an unruly crowd. Referees had to call the game midway through the third quarter for the safety of players and spectators, and a police spokeswoman described the atmosphere as a "herd mentality" fueled by gang tension and out-of-control, unsupervised young people.

How do you respond to such a difficult situation? Tulsa Public Schools Athletic Director Stephanie Spring chose to act quickly, announcing new game day rules for all five district stadiums a few days later.

"Our main goal was to make sure the people at our games were there because they actually wanted to watch football," she says. "We felt most of the problems were created by those who didn't really care about what was happening on the field and just saw it as a social event--we wanted to eliminate that."

Several new policies were created to screen for troublemakers. "One new rule is that no one is admitted to the game after the start of the third quarter," says Spring. "If you're there to watch a football game, you'll be there when the game starts.

"And once people are in the stadium, we don't allow them to stand around and congregate in groups," Spring continues. "Everyone needs to be in a seat, unless they're visiting the restroom or in line for concessions. We had too many people just running around the stadium all game long."

In addition, middle school students are no longer admitted without an adult. "At the game where the fighting broke out, there were unsupervised middle schoolers running around from fight to fight, escalating the situation," Spring explains. "Now, when middle schoolers come in, we tell the adult who's with them, 'It's your responsibility to keep these kids in their seats.'"

The rules were a great success for the remainder of the football season--there were no more problems at any of Tulsa's stadiums--and they've now been extended to varsity basketball contests. "The response has been very positive," Spring says. "People appreciate that we're trying to make events safer and more enjoyable."