Twenty-three people were ejected from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday for standing on the bleachers during the football game against the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
That's 17 more than the six ejections at the Florida Atlantic University game a week earlier, said Lt. Mitchal Welsh of the University Police.
UF junior Eric Crihfield had seen only the first few plays of the UF-UAB game when he and four other people were kicked out.
An Alachua County Sheriff's Office deputy told them an usher had previously warned them about standing on the bleachers and they were now being ejected for continuing to do so.
Crihfield said an usher never approached them, and they asked to speak with the employee who had supposedly spoken to them.
The deputy refused to allow them to speak with the usher but said he had seen the employee walking up and down the aisles, telling people to step off the bleachers, said Crihfield, who was sitting near the aisle at the game.
"We were completely baffled," he said.
Welsh said people are asked not to stand on bleachers for safety reasons.
The increase in ejections at the UAB game may have been because officials handle the bleacher issue on a complaint basis, Welsh said, and there were more complaints on Saturday.
Ushers may not always be available to warn people not to stand on bleachers, like when they check tickets at the beginning of a game. Officers will usually handle the issue themselves in those cases.
People who are ejected from the game are first taken to the booking room set up in the stadium, which Welsh runs, where they provide their basic information. UF students may be provided with paperwork if they need to attend a hearing with the Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution department of the Dean of Students Office.
Students are not required to attend conduct hearings and are not barred from attending other football games if they are ejected for standing on the bleachers, UF spokeswoman Janine Sikes said.
People don't always receive face-to-face warnings, but announcements are made during football games telling people not to stand on the bleachers, Welsh said.
"I find it hard to believe that somebody would not know that you're not allowed to stand on the bleachers at this point," he said.
A student standing on the bleachers protests a call at the game against UAB on Saturday. Twenty-three people were ejected from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium for standing on bleachers.
