One of things that makes college sports so incredible is the passion from each school’s fan base. There is no greater culmination of this passion than when an upset occurs and the court is engulfed by a mob of zealous students and fans.

In the majority of cases, all goes according to plan with the court storm, and the students and players get to enjoy a massive celebration. However, just this year alone, we have witnessed two events involving a student and an opposing player colliding with one another during the chaos.

While the SEC has not had a scenario like this yet, should they get ahead of what seems inevitable and ban court storming to protect its players and fans?

It’s clear that something needs to be done when it comes to storming the court. Fines have been put into place, but let’s be honest. The value of these fines are a drop in the bucket for most programs who will gladly pay whatever amount if it means they just upset a top program and have immense fan support in doing so. 

That said, I don’t think that bans are the way to go. What makes college sports so spectacular is the fervor for the game and program the fans have. A school could be absolutely terrible, but if there’s a chance to beat a highly ranked program at home, students will pack the arena in hopes their team can pull it off. If bans are in place, I think it’s just a matter of time before students start to lose their fire and just watch at home.

So, if fines are insufficient and bans would not be good for the game, what can be done to protect all parties involved if and when a court is stormed in the SEC? I think there exist two possible scenarios, each with a different course of action. 

Scenario one is the home team is up big with just seconds to go. Everyone knows the upset has been pulled off. I think technically the rules require both teams to be on the court to finish out the game, but there should be an official’s time out to allow for the away team to get in front of their bench before resuming play as the clock expires. If the game is over and what transpires during those finals seconds is meaningless, a stoppage in play would not change or hurt a thing.

Think of this, how often is a game stopped for replay? Now replay is a good thing in most circumstances, but there is no question that the stoppage in play affects the rhythm and flow of the game. Officials are still quick to pause the game for a review, so a stoppage in this situation should be a no brainer. 

The challenging thing with basketball is how quickly the students get onto the court and the multiple directions from which they enter. Whatever security is at the game doesn’t stand a chance in securing a barrier between the fans and opposing players in time. But if the opposing team were already in front of their bench, not only could they get off the court a lot quicker, but that area could be contained much more securely. 

The other scenario involves a game that is much closer and comes down to the final second. Obviously, the opposing team can’t just stand in front of their bench waiting for the game to end. This is a situation where the fans must bear more responsibility and fines do not accomplish this. If I’m a student at a game in which a massive upset just occurred in our favor, I’m not thinking twice before storming the court.

The last thing on my mind is what fine the program will have to pay. Afterall, that money is not coming out of my pockets. In this case, why not implement a 10 or 15 second period (with a countdown displayed on the jumbotron) after the game’s end  for the opposing team to get off the court and either into the handshake line or into the locker room. If a student or group of students rushes onto the court during this period, a technical foul will be issued to the home team. After this period, a second horn will sound and the fans can rush the court.

In this scenario, there will be plenty of timeouts. Whether that be team timeouts or official reviews. The game will inevitably have multiple stops over the course of the last minute during which announcements can be made to remind students to stay in their seats until the second horn. Put it up on the jumbotron as well. I think this is the only way for fans to feel like they’re influencing the outcome of the game and shoulder some responsibility for how it ends. Fines have proven to be insufficient and if the entire student section rushes onto the court, the school won’t take any action against them. That said, if there’s a risk of a technical foul being issued to the home team, even if students do rush the court prematurely, the number will be much much lower.

It’d be easier for the athletic department to take action against those students by banning them from future attendance for potentially costing them a chance at an upset. The penalty being against the program whose students are doing the storming does nothing to discourage the students from rushing onto the court. In fact, most coaches and ADs wouldn’t think twice about paying a fine. If the penalty were against the team and potentially against the outcome of the game as well as against the student(s), they’d be way more likely to follow whatever rules are in place. 

I think these ideas would help to mitigate any risk for an unfortunate interaction between a fan and opposing player which is ultimately what needs to be avoided at all cost. These ideas would enhance player and fan safety as well as allow for college sports to remain spectacular. That said, there will always be an inherent risk for the fans who choose to rush the court/field. There are examples of individuals being severely injured during what is  in essence a stampede of fans.

This is the only reason the NCAA or any conference should ever truly consider banning court storming.