New York University held their graduation ceremony at Yankee Stadium because of construction conflicts at the usual location of Washington Square Park. The graduates were given one strict guideline - DO NOT GO ONTO THE FIELD.

For one young man, that was merely a yield sign and not a stop sign.

William Lopez of Manhasset, Long Island, jumped over the right field wall and dashed around the bases. Turning third, donned in his blue graduation gown, Lopez was nailed by the cutoff men -- NYPD Cops.

"I was trying to make it to home plate. I wanted to do a head-first dive. I almost made it, only 10 feet to go."

Check out the hilarious video above.

Lopez was told by the NYPD that he had ruined graduation. As you'll notice from the video, that was hardly the case.

'Are you kidding me? The crowd was cheering me on.' "

To top is all off, young Lopez even impressed his parents.

Lopez's father, Bob Lopez, said when he saw the figure running on the field, "My wife asked, 'Could that be William?' I said, 'No. That kid's an athlete."

Here's to William Lopez jumping into the real world with all the enthusiasm necessary to make something of himself and also, here's to the NYPD for demonstrating to the Yankees how to successfully stop visitors from reaching home plate.

Yer Out [NY Post]