Is Vanderbilt's Court-Storming Policy the Best Solution? Just a Minute

Vanderbilt has paid three fines totaling nearly $1 million after its fans stormed its football field and basketball court (twice) and the university adopted a policy to help stop more fines being levied.

Vanderbilt fans storm the court to celebrate their Commodores win over the Tennessee Volunteers after their game at Memorial Gym in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. | Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

After racking up nearly $1 million in fines related to fans storming football fields and basketball courts after big wins, Vanderbilt instituted a new policy to help avoid more fines.

The new policy allows for postgame celebrations on the court after 60 seconds after the final buzzer, giving players, coaches and officials time to safely leave the court. Basically, if you’ve seen how mosh pit starts at a concert, that’s what it’ll look like at Memorial Gymnasium the next time the Commodores score another big upset.

Is that a good idea?

The mosh pit analogy might be a little extreme, but imagine the scene. Vanderbilt wins a big game and as the opposing team and officials leave the court, the Vanderbilt players are at midcourt celebrating. The fans pack up the sidelines as the countdown clock ticks down. The excitement and emotions building until everyone begins to yell out the final seconds and then, woosh, everyone rushes forward.

It could be a great visual and, if all goes well, other schools could adopt a similar policy.

Court and field storming are fun visuals, but as we’ve seen, it can be dangerous. So, until there’s a national ban, the conferences and schools have to solve the issues themselves. Vanderbilt’s policy may not be perfect, but it’s better than what’ll most likely come next: forfeits. And nobody wants that.