College Basketball

Madness! Cheerleaders, dance teams brawl at SIAC tournament

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 3:22 p.m. ET

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The Albany State men's basketball team finished 9-17 this season, 5-14 in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, and entered the SIAC tournament as the No. 6 seed from its division.

Not surprisingly, the Golden Rams were promptly booted from the tournament, 80-63 losers to Tuskegee on Tuesday.

Maybe they should start acting more like the cheerleaders.

The cheerleaders and dance squads from both Albany State and Tuskegee were sent home Tuesday night from the tournament in Birmingham, Ala., just hours after the two squads were involved in a fight at halftime of the game.

This brief clip reportedly shows some of the altercation. Warning: Profanity.

But that was just the beginning, as game of Musical News Releases broke out Wednesday. Up first, the SIAC:

"The obligation to observe basic principles of sportsmanship and fair play extends to all participants at the SIAC basketball tournament. As a consequence of the incident on Tuesday, the cheerleading and dance teams from both Albany State University and Tuskegee University will not be permitted to participate in our tournament for the remainder of the week."

Then, Albany State athletic director Richard Williams:

"At Albany State University, we take pride in demonstrating exemplary sportsmanship, leadership and good character. We expect our student athletes and representatives to conduct themselves accordingly; anything less is unacceptable.

"Based on the findings of our investigation and the university’s student code of conduct, we will take appropriate action."

Followed by Tuskegee officials:

"Tuskegee University is disappointed by the incident which occurred between the cheerleaders of Tuskegee University and Albany State during Tuesday’s 2015 SIAC Tournament,” Tuskegee officials said. “The university does not condone and conduct unbecoming of a Tuskegee University student."

And for good measure, SIAC commissioner Gregory Moore:

"We would like to apologize to our fans, the Birmingham Crossplex, and corporate partners, for the unfortunate event."

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