ESPN.com’s Andy Katz is reporting that the Vanderbilt athletic department can expect a fine of up to $25,000 from the SEC after their students rushed the floor following their victory over no.1-ranked Florida Saturday.

“Vandy is now subject to a penalty of up to $25,000 after fans stormed the court in Nashville, the ‘Dores second offense of a three-year-old rule on court storming in the SEC. Vandy was fined $5,000 in 2005 after fans stormed the court following a second-round NIT win over Wichita State.”

I am really torn about this floor rushing thing. On one hand, I think it’s sometimes warranted. I watched as my fellow Hoosiers rushed the floor at Assembly Hall following their victory over then-no.2 ranked Wisconsin last month. That was arguably the program’s most meaningful win since going to the Final Four in 2002. That win was a program changer and so was Vandy’s thrashing of the Gators Saturday. I think in those instances the students should be allowed to celebrate.

There are always two sides to every argument and this argument is certainly no exception. When students rush the floor immediately following the conclusion of a game you have the components of a very dangerous situation. You have thousands of ecstatic (and let’s face it.. potentially drunken fans) rubbing shoulders with opposing (and probably upset) players. In Katz’s piece he talks about Florida freshman Brandon Powell who was caught in the middle of the mayhem at Vandy and Florida officials attempted to extract him to prevent an incident.

I think the NCAA needs to institute some kind of formal rule on this issue and not deflect it to the conferences themselves to rule. But there also has to be fan ettiquette in common sense. Vandy deserved to be fined substantially more than $5,000 for celebrating a second-round NIT win. I mean that’s just silly.

Here are a couple of rules to remember when considering whether or not to rush the floor:

1. Is the team you just beat an arch-rival on a last second prayer from half court? If so, proceed with the floor rush.

2. Were you an odds-on favorite before the game and/or ranked higher than your opponent? If so, proceed to the parking lot.

3. Is your team ranked but the team you just beat is ranked AT LEAST 10 spots higher? If so, join the team at half-court for a sweaty embrace.

What it ultimately comes down to is common sense. I would love to be able to give my full endorsement to rushing the floor but unfortunately I can’t. Drunken, college students interacting with emotional opposing players in the moments after an emotional game is too volatile a mix. I hope we can figure out some way to govern this tradition without someone getting hurt.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 19th, 2007 at 7:40 pm and is filed under NCAA, SEC, Vanderbilt. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.