Nasty fight breaks out between college football players after losing player sucker punches winning player during postgame celebrations

An ugly scene unfolded in Mobile on Saturday night after an Eastern Michigan player appeared to sucker punch a South Alabama player following South Alabama's 59-10 victory in the 68 Ventures Bowl, sparking off an ugly on-field brawl.

South Alabama, which was playing on their home field, cruised to an easy victory in the game. They led 38-3 at halftime and were in command virtually from the opening kickoff. They outgained Eastern Michigan 627 yards to 150 in the game. It was South Alabama's first ever bowl victory since they became an FBS school in 2012.

As coach Kane Wommack said, "A lot of work goes into a moment like this. It goes way beyond just our players this season. ... We've had a great past, great moments in our present and certainly our best days are ahead of us and that's really exciting. This is a great moment to build upon and that's exactly what we're doing."

However, what most people are talking about today were the unsportsmanlike actions of an Eastern Michigan player after the game. As the South Alabama team lined up on the field facing the band and saluting their fans after a great season, an Eastern Michigan player ran up behind a South Alabama player, apparently unprovoked, and punched him in the back of the head.

From there, the fight spread, involving several players from both teams, before officials intervened and apparent calm was restored.

Eastern Michigan athletic director Scott Weatherbee said in a statement after the game, "We strongly condemn the actions of some of the student-athletes on the EMU football team in the ugly incident that took place following last night's 68 Ventures Bowl. We are deeply upset and embarrassed by what happened. Their conduct does not reflect the great pride and high standards we place on the game and our program, and the expectations for good sportsmanship and exemplary conduct of student-athletes on and off the field. What happened was completely unacceptable. We apologize to the Eastern Michigan University community and to the South Alabama team and their fans. I have been in contact with South Alabama Director of Athletics Joel Erdmann to express our sincere apologies and Coach Creighton has done the same with Coach Womack. We are committed to sharing information and video to fully understand all that occurred. As Coach Creighton stated in the postgame press conference, there is absolutely no place for this kind of incident in the Eastern Michigan University football program. University President James Smith and I have been in contact with Mid-American Conference Commissioner Dr. Jon Steinbrecher and we are committed to working jointly to investigate the incident in accordance with institutional and Conference policies. We are continuing to review the situation and the conduct of the student-athletes involved and will take appropriate action as more information is gathered."

No punishment has yet been announced for any of the players involved in the fight.