I’ve never understood the whole rioting after a sports event thing.

Jake New of Inside Higher Ed reports.

Expulsions After Riots

Students at West Virginia University, perhaps more so than any other college, have a reputation for lighting things on fire.

Most famously, they burn couches to celebrate a football win or to vent over a loss. It’s a tradition that stretches back to the 1970s, but over the years the flames have not been limited to furniture. They spread to trash cans and cars as well, occasionally helping to ignite what police call full-blown riots on and near campus. There have been at least six such riots in the past two decades — the most recent of which occurred on Saturday, following West Virginia’s win over Baylor University.

Three students have already been expelled for their involvement in the disturbances, and President Gordon Gee said more could follow. The swift punishments come at a time when Gee, who has served as president since January after retiring from Ohio State University, is pushing to clean up the university’s hard-partying image. From Playboy to the Princeton Review, West Virginia frequently ranks on lists of best party schools.

Some students worry, however, that the expulsions have come too quickly, not allowing enough time to properly assess who was involved and what type of punishment they should face.