Atlantic 10 Reprimands and Fines VCU and Saint Louis After Scuffle

Conference praises officials for handling incident at end of close game between top teams

Feb. 22, 2026 at 12:33am

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The Atlantic 10 conference has issued reprimands and fines to both the No. 18 ranked Saint Louis Billikens and the VCU Rams basketball teams following a scuffle that occurred near the end of their game on Friday night. The conference praised the game officials for their handling of the situation and said the matter is now closed.

Why it matters

Sportsmanship and player conduct are important issues in college athletics, especially for high-profile programs like Saint Louis and VCU. The Atlantic 10's response sets a precedent for how it will address similar incidents going forward to maintain the integrity of the game.

The details

With 1.1 seconds left in the game and Saint Louis leading 88-75, the coaches from both teams were preparing to shake hands when the benches cleared and a scuffle broke out. The Atlantic 10 conference reviewed the incident and decided to issue reprimands and fines to both teams, but did not hand down any suspensions, praising the game officials for their handling of the situation.

  • The incident occurred on Friday, February 21, 2026 near the end of the Saint Louis vs. VCU basketball game.

The players

Saint Louis Billikens

The No. 18 ranked men's basketball team from Saint Louis University.

VCU Rams

The men's basketball team from Virginia Commonwealth University.

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What’s next

The Atlantic 10 will continue its regular season and prepare for the conference tournament in Pittsburgh in March.

The takeaway

The Atlantic 10's swift and decisive action in reprimanding and fining both teams shows its commitment to maintaining sportsmanship and player conduct standards, even in high-stakes matchups between top conference contenders.