There’s something almost poetic about storming the court or field in college athletics. As the clock winds down to zero, fans slowly begin trickling their way down the stadium, brimming with anticipation. The stress accrued from hours of competition and living and dying with every play demands a release. And then, the buzzer sounds. An avalanche of fans clad in the color of their school bull-rush the field of play. It’s every man and woman for herself. A moment of catharsis that only adds to the rich traditions and majesty of college athletics.
Unfortunately, the world saw on Saturday, Feb. 26 the ugly side of court stormings. Wake Forest defeated Duke, 83-79, in an instant classic game. The ending of that game, however, was marred by Kyle Filipowski’s injury in the court storming that followed the game. As thousands of fans rushed the Joel’s court, Filipowski collided with multiple fans, eventually spraining his ankle in the process.
In the ensuing days since the court storming, the 24/7 sports news cycle has been dominated by whether or not the NCAA should ban court stormings. Some, like ESPN’s Jay Bilas, believe that students should be criminally punished for storming the court. Others believe Filipowski was at fault for not vacating the court in a timely manner. No pressure, but the action the NCAA takes in the next 24 to 48 hours will shape traditions of college fandoms for generations to come. I believe that the NCAA needs to preserve the tradition of court stormings rather than banning them altogether.
The counter-argument is obvious: players and coaches are put at risk with thousands of stampeding fans invading the court or field. I completely agree that player and coach safety is paramount regardless of situation. However, there are ways to ensure that players and coaches alike remain unscathed in the midst of the delirium.
Think about it: there have been dozens of court/field stormings over the years. From Ole Miss tearing down the goalposts against Alabama in 2014, to Indiana fans rushing the court after Christian Watford’s iconic buzzer beater over Kentucky in 2011, court and field stormings have become sacred rites of passage only employed on special occasions. And in those occasions, it is rare to see players, coaches, or other fans be injured. It’s not like fans storm the field every game. These moments are only saved for the best games, the best rivalries, the best upsets. Getting rid of them altogether would be a slap in the face to fans who pay exorbitant amounts of money to watch their teams compete on the biggest stages.
To ensure that court stormings run more smoothly, athletic administrations who host big games need to do a better job of reading the room. I had the honor and privilege of witnessing the Duke-Wake game live and in person, and the security for the game was paper thin. It was almost like security didn’t realize the game they were in: Wake Forest was a home favorite against Duke, a rare occurrence, and had its first sellout since 2017, also a Duke visit. Schools like Wake, Duke, and other Power 5s have the resources available to commit a detailed security team to home games, regardless of sport, to ensure that if (and when) court stormings happen, they don’t pose a risk to the players and coaches involved.
The situation here is a developing one. We do not know what, if any, action the NCAA will take to rectify the issues that Kyle Filipowski and Caitlin Clark, the Iowa star who was also injured in a court storming, have faced. One thing is for certain: these cathartic events are critical to the ecosystem of college athletics. Field/court stormings are what separate college athletics from the pros. If the NCAA decides to ban them completely, it will do more harm than good.
Sports Editor
