Crowds Rushing the Floor
 

A disturbing trend as one poster here mentioned elsewhere. I hope it doesn't trickle down to HS, but given the ESPN hype, I would not be surprised if it does. I wonder if that will be a topic of discussion at rules committee meetings this spring (at all levels)?

What rule, with possible consequences/penalties, could anyone possibly come up with that makes sense or even prevents a crowd "rushing the floor"?

This falls into the category of "causing more problems than it solves"....

That happens here in big wins all over the place. And that has been going on for some time. It is usually not as bad with fewer people in the gym, but in a college gym there are literally thousands rushing the court when it might not be 100 in a HS setting.

Peace

It seems to be happening whether or not it is a 'big win'.

I had it happen exactly once at a HS rivalry game. Home team hits a 3 point buzzer beater for a one point win...crowd (students and parents and supporters) go wild and rush the floor...probably 800 in attendance. Doesn't sound like that big of a deal but it was a little unnerving. Our crew was caught in the mayhem as we tried to get out of the gym. The main thing I was worried about was some idiot thinking they could take a free shot at any of us. Two sherriff's deputies in attendance watched at the exits.

Why should we care...game is over, get out. Let them have a bit of fun.

College basketball star saves wheelchair-using fan from crowd - TODAY News
btw, I am not hoping or advocating that this be a new duty foisted upon officials.

I guess that depends on what people consider a big win. But not seeing much of an issue here yet. Then again not the amount of people to cause much of a problem in the first place. Then again the people rushing the court are students and not many students at games to even make an issue yet. I know that at big tournament games they have not let kids come onto the court.

Peace

I'm still waiting on Gene Steratore to emerge from the Wisconsin crowd. He couldn't move.

I hear he's on TV right now, working Ohio State / Indiana.

Me too. 3 pointer at the buzzer. We got off the floor with no problem.

I've had it happen a few times. Once it was completely predictable (big upset, game well decided) and I had already planned my escape route and was a few steps into it when the horn finally went.

I've had two buzzer beaters in the past three weeks. Developed our escape plan during the final timeout each time. So I have no idea whether they rushed the floor or not.

What do I care if fans rush the court. Am I going to T up the home school for this. Heck no. I'll be off the court way before any of the madness really.

Even if it happens prematurely, which could always be a possibility. I would clear the court up first then just pick up where we need to. Unless told otherwise, this would be how I would handle this.

I'll admit, it caught the whole crew by surprise...probably because we hadn't seen it in a HS game before. It was a district playoff game between two schools we hadn't seen that season. We had to run the full length of the gym to get to our room...through the sea of humanity as it happened. A little anxious as we fought the tide but we made it through without incident.

Do colleges have a plan to get security personnel to officials when this happens, or does it take everyone by surprise? I was surprised by Wisconsin rushing the floor, since they were ranked and all, but normally people can see it coming. I would just hate it as an official to get swallowed up by a crowd like that. I remember seeing John Higgins elbowing his way through the crowd a couple of years ago in a Big 12 game. As long as nothing has ever happened, at least that I have heard of, it isn't a big issue.

Unless the mob was out to hang the officials this isn't really a problem. It's just a bunch of kids wanting to celebrate for whatever reason, usually a win.

I would expect that it wouldn't be a problem as well, but it would make me pretty uncomfortable if I was one of the officials.

I recently saw a video of a high school game where they waited until after the postgame handshakes to rush the floor. Hopefully your crowds do that so you can get off the floor in peace.

SEC Policy
 

In the SEC if fans rush the court the school gets fined.

5K for the 1st occurence
25K for the 2nd time
50K for the3rd time
After 3 years of no occurences the clock goes back to the 1st occurence. There is also something about if it happens and there is no plan in place to prevent it the fine is an automatic 2nd time. These are from SEC bylaws

Hang 'Em High ...
 

Be careful how you word your posts. I still wear an old fashioned noose lanyard. It coordinates with my black belt.