UM fined $50,000 after fans stormed court following win over North Carolina
The University of Miami will pay a price for its basketball fans’ jubilant celebration following the Hurricanes’ upset victory over No. 11 North Carolina on Tuesday night.
The Atlantic Coast Conference fined the university $50,000 because fans stormed the court, in accordance with league rules. It was the school’s first offense in violation of the league’s event security policy.
The policy is designed to protect the safety and well-being of all student-athletes, coaches, officials and fans. UM officials had no comment on the fine.
Last weekend, it was UNC that was fined for a court-storming incident after its last-second win over archrival Duke.
In that game, the celebration was a bit more chaotic. It began prematurely when Seth Trimble hit a 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left, a shot that appeared to go in as time expired. UNC fans stormed the court to celebrate.
Officials reviewed the play and determined there was time left on the clock, so the fans had to be cleared for Duke to get off one final play. The fans then stormed the court again at the final buzzer.
Duke coach Jon Scheyer complained that staff members were shoved and one was reportedly injured during the celebration.
Miami’s 75-66 win over UNC was not quite as dramatic in the final minute, but fans had reason to celebrate the first win over a ranked opponent under first-year coach Jai Lucas, who has taken Miami from last place in the ACC to a likely NCAA Tournament team.
The money from the fine is directed to the Weaver-James-Corrigan-Swofford Postgraduate Scholarship Fund, which benefits ACC student-athletes pursuing graduate education, the ACC said in a statement.
The fines increase for every violation of the rules over a two-year period. A second offense leads to a $100,000 fine. Every offense after that is another $200,000 fine.