Nathan Creer, father of Nathan Scheelhaase, starting quarterback of University of Illinois has been banned from campus for a year following his arrest over an argument at Saturday's football game.
Jeff Christensen, university police Chief, told Maimi Herald that Creer was arrested after an altercation, involving at least five people at Memorial Stadium during Saturday's game. Creer appeared drunk. However, no injuries were reported.
"From what I heard, somebody was intoxicated, words were exchanged, swings were exchanged. We got the parties separated. Some calmed down and went along with the program. Some did not," UI deputy police chief Skip Frost told NBC Sports.
"(Creer) resisted and obstructed the officer's efforts to remove him from the incident," Christensen said. "He became somewhat aggressive with the officer."
Creer, a former college football player at Iowa in the 1980s, was the only individual arrested and three others involved in the brawl were removed from the stadium.
According to Christensen and Champaign County court records, Creer, 51, pleaded not guilty Monday to resisting and obstructing an officer, a misdemeanor. A pre-trial hearing has been scheduled for Dec. 17.
Tim Beckman, Illinois football coach said that Creer's arrest should not affect Scheelhaase.
"(Scheelhaase is) a great young man and I know he'll be able to work through the situation," Beckman told Miami Herald. "Nathan can (only) control what Nathan can control."
Scheelhaase turned out to be exactly what Beckman had hoped for. Scheelhaase said that practicing for Saturday's game at Penn State helped him not get too upset about his father's arrest.
"I've kept it as a family matter," Scheelhaase said. "When you're a senior, you've kind of been through the whole gambit. You know there's going to be different distractions throughout your career, and the best thing I have is I have a bunch of people in here who are focused on this next game, focused on what we need to do every day."
The police chief said that issuing such a ban to someone outside campus community and suspected of creating trouble is a common practice. He said that around 170 such bans are issued each year. Although the bans can be appealed, Creer has not considered the action yet. Violating the ban can lead to a criminal trespass charge.
Champaign County State's Attorney Julia Rietz told Miami Herald that Creer is currently serving probation following misdemeanor trespassing conviction in January.
