Arizona’s once-lonely quest against court-storming was rewarded Tuesday, when the Pac-12 announced it has instituted fines of up to $100,000 against schools whose fans rush the playing surface.
Schools will be fined $25,000 for a first offense, $50,000 for a second and $100,000 for a third on a basketball court or a football field. That’s notably less stiff than the SEC’s schedule of $50,000 for a first offense, $100,000 for a second and $250,000 for three or more.
The Pac-12’s schedule of fines was proposed by a council made up of athletic directors, senior women’s administrators, faculty athletic representatives and student-athlete representatives. Presidents and chancellors from each school then voted to approve it during meetings earlier this week.
“We appreciate the Pac-12 staff, CEOs, and ADs supporting a new court/field storming rule to protect our conference teams, coaches and game officials,” UA athletic director Greg Byrne said via text message.
The Pac-12 had previously proposed rules that included fines for court-storms, but commissioner Larry Scott said in February, after UA coach Sean Miller complained following a court-storming at Colorado, that schools had not supported them.
That was a sore point for Miller, whose team has been stormed upon far more than any other in the Pac-12. Fans have rushed the court after 11 of the Wildcats’ 14 Pac-12 road losses since 2012-13 — twice each at Oregon, ASU, Colorado, USC and Cal, while Oregon State fans also did it in 2014-15.
After ASU fans rushed the court for a second-straight season, on Feb. 7, 2015, Miller said schools should be fined $100,000 for any offense.
“If you think about it, there’s really only one thing that can happen, and that’s bad,” Miller said then. “What’s the good? I can name a lot of bad.”
Miller’s comments took an even sharper tone last season after Colorado’s 75-72 win over the UA on Feb. 24 in Boulder. When several Wildcats were bumped by fans in the post-game celebration, Miller suggested one of his players might someday be prompted to retaliate and legal action could follow.
“Eventually what’s going to happen in the Pac-12 is this: An Arizona player is going to punch a fan,” Miller said after the CU game. “And they’re going to punch the fan out of self-defense. And when it happens, only when it happens, will everybody say, ‘We have to do something so that when the game ends we have a deep breath to be able to leave the court. Or at least shake the other team’s hand and then get to our locker room.
“Some (court-storms) are more under control, some aren’t.
“But if 7-foot, 250–pound Kaleb Tarzcewski gets bumped literally three seconds after the game ends and he retaliates, what would be the response of our conference? What would be the response? If more teams were having the court-stormed on them, I wouldn’t be the only guy who’s bringing it up.”
Miller went on to say in Colorado that the issue was “falling on deaf ears,” and Byrne tweeted on Feb. 25 that "this has to be addressed because someone is going to get hurt."
Sentiment appeared to change this spring. Byrne declined to get into details of the Pac-12 Council's decision but said “we had a good discussion about this issue, and this was where we collectively landed.”
Pac-12 spokesman Erik Hardenburgh said safety was the primary concern of the council, adding that schools will be fined for any fans rushing the courts, whether or not players, coaches and officials are brushed or hit by fans. The specifics of the policy have not been determined.
How schools handle court-storms, and the logistics of each venue, can vary considerably around the league.
While the Wildcats faced inevitable contact with students at Colorado because the student section is adjacent to the visiting team’s bench and visiting players must walk the entire length of the court to reach their locker room, the UA had no such trouble after a loss at Cal. There, a wall of security stood between them and celebrating fans.
“The idea is that this is important for all of us and we’ve got to figure out how to safeguard it,” Hardenbergh said.
“Part of it is education with the fans and the staff. This provides direction and the time for the schools to work on it before next season.”
It is not yet clear when or if a clock on previous offenses will be reset. In the SEC, where both Auburn and Vanderbilt were fined $100,000 for court-storms following basketball wins over Kentucky last season, the clock is reset if schools go three years without a violation.
Rim shots
- UA freshman Lauri Markkanen has enrolled in UA presession courses while working with staffers. He is not expected to be present for either full summer session because of Finnish national team commitments.
- Miller is expected to discuss his six-player spring recruiting class during a news conference scheduled for Wednesday. Of the UA’s six spring additions, the Wildcats have formally announced only guards Rawle Alkins and Kobi Simmons, who signed letters-of-intent early in the spring signing period.
