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The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) has fined the University of North Carolina $50,000 for violating league security protocols after fans stormed the court twice during Saturday's men's basketball victory over rival Duke.
The chaotic scene unfolded at the Dean Smith Center on Saturday (February 8) when UNC's Seth Trimble hit a go-ahead three-pointer that initially appeared to be a buzzer-beater in the Tar Heels' 71-68 win over the fourth-ranked Blue Devils. Fans rushed the court believing the game had ended, but officials determined 0.4 seconds remained on the clock, according to ESPN.
After clearing the court to resume play, fans stormed again when the game officially concluded.
In the aftermath, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer expressed serious concerns about safety.
"I got staff members that got punched in the face," Scheyer said. "My family [was] pushing people away, trying to not get trampled. That's not what this game is about."
A Duke spokesperson confirmed that one staff member was injured during the incident but provided no additional details to protect the individual's privacy.
UNC Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham issued an apology Saturday night, acknowledging the security breakdown.
"When they rushed the court, a number of people got knocked over," Cunningham said. "Obviously, if somebody got injured, that's just really, really disappointing. We'll do the best we can to make sure that doesn't happen, but again, my apologies to Duke for that."
In a statement following the fine announcement, UNC accepted the penalty while defending some aspects of their security response. "The video we have confirms we followed our protocols to get Duke's players and bench personnel and the game officials off the floor safely," the university stated.
The ACC implemented a graduated fine structure for court and field storming incidents prior to this season, partly in response to a February 2024 incident at Wake Forest where Duke star Kyle Filipowski was injured during a court storm.
This marks UNC's first offense under the new policy. The $50,000 fine will be directed to the Weaver-James-Corrigan-Swofford Postgraduate Scholarship Fund, which benefits ACC student-athletes pursuing graduate education.