As the clock ticked down on Florida State's upset over No. 1 Duke March 1, fans at the Donald L. Tucker Center prematurely rushed the court in celebration.
Amid the chaos, drunken Seminole fans tugged at the jerseys and screamed in the faces of several Duke players, creating a scenario that head coach Mike Krzyzewski would later call scary.
Last week a group of athletic administrators met in Savannah, Ga. to discuss and develop plans to ensure that postgame celebrations remain safe for both students and student-athletes.
The 12-member panel hopes to make crowd control a higher priority at all NCAA institutions.
"It's too easy to say that fan control is someone else's job," said Sam Schuman, a speaker at the summit and the chancellor of the University of Minnesota, where a student was killed during a goal-post accident last fall. "It's better to think about procedures before an incident than after. It may take time, but it is infinitely preferred to dealing with a tragedy afterward."
Duke has become a regular target of court rushing because of its high rankings during the past few years and the infrequency with which the Blue Devils lose.
Although Krzyzewski said he does not believe court rushing is a problem throughout the country, he added that security is necessary. Krzyzewski recounted a time when former Blue Devil Jason Williams was kicked by a fan during a postgame celebration.
"The storming of the court, if given an opportunity for the team to leave, I don't think is a bad thing," Krzyzewski said. "But you've got to protect the opponent so that they won't be placed in harm's way for injury or inflicting an injury."
When surrounded by excited fans, players can be put in a compromising situation in which they feel the need to defend themselves, Krzyzewski said.
"One of the things you worry about is the reaction of a player in that environment," Krzyzewski said. "What happens if somebody grabbed J.J. [Redick] and he punched that person. They would take that moment and say what he did is really bad without understanding the fact that he was just in this competitive environment."
The panel expects to make recommendations by August and have support of presidents by the start of the 2006-2007 academic year.
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