RUNNING UP THE SCORE/PURSUIT OF INDIVIDUAL RECORDS

A fundamental tenet of good sportsmanship holds that we don't run up the score, and we don't embarrass our opponent by pursuing an individual record in a non-competitive game.  Running up the score is an administrator's nightmare.  It's an ethical breach, but it's not the type of act that a coach gets suspended for.  It enrages opponents, who often get frustrated and commit an act that gets them suspended.  Administrators then feel pressure to do something to rein in the coach who's running up scores.  This page documents instances of running up the score and pursuing individual records in uncompetitive games.

Estero, FL - October 14, 2008 - 91 - 0 Game Tough For Both Teams, AP Wire Service on Rivals.com.  Yes, this was a 91-0 game, but when you read the story you'll see that the coaches and players are saying all the right things and handling it as well as it can be handled.  Of course, there is some dispute as to whether it was handled as well as possible on the field but this blowout does not seem to have engendered as much ill will as some of the other games where scores have been run up.

Toms River, NJ - September 8, 2007 - Annual "Civil War" between Toms River North and Toms River South Has Ugly Subtext Due to Allegations of Running Up Score.  See the September 11, 2007 Tony On Baseball Blog on The Asbury Park Press Website.

Seattle, WA March 26, 2007 - Washington: Fastpitch Game Gets Out of Hand by Nathan Joyce, Maxpreps.com. (softball team wins 64-0 and baseball team has 24 run inning). 

Running Up The Score and Ethics - October 10, 2006: See The Ethics of A High School Football Rout, The Ethics Scoreboard (discussing the West Virginia incident and the philosophy of not running up scores as an ethical principle).

Pursuit of Record Brings Sportsmanship Into Question by Eli Saslow, Washington Post, October 6, 2006 page A01.  (in this West Virginia incident, a player sets a rushing record in an uncompetitive football game).

The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference passed a 50 point blowout rule in 2006 to prevent schools from running up the score.  While well- intended, did they get it right?. Click here for information on the Connecticut 50 point rule.