Could Wake-Duke Incident End Gathering at the Paw?
By: Cameron Burnett February 25, 2024

CLEMSON – Could an historic tradition at Clemson be coming to an end?

No one knows just yet, but what happened at the end of the Duke-Wake Forest game in Winston-Salem, N.C. could affect how the Atlantic Coast Conference looks at fans storming the court or rushing the field going forward.

Dating back to 1942 when Memorial Stadium first opened its doors at Clemson, the tradition of Tiger fans going on the field “win” or “lose” to meet their favorite players began. It was donned “Gathering at the Paw” in 2003, but could Saturday’s events in Winston-Salem trickle down to Clemson and college football?

Wake Forest took down No. 8 Duke Saturday at home, and fans rushed to the floor before the buzzer even sounded. During the chaos, Blue Devils leading scorer, Kyle Filipowski, collided with fans and had to be helped off the floor with a sprained ankle, according to Duke head coach Jon Scheyer.

The incident sparked a massive discussion around college sports about if Filipowski intended to make contact with the fan, and more importantly, whether this could be the end of the court storm in the ACC.

Scheyer called for its end during his postgame press conference, saying “When are we going to ban court storming?”

Clemson head coach Brad Brownell was asked about it following the Tigers’ win over Florida State Saturday night.

“It felt like there was a second or two left and guys were crossing the baseline and there’s absolutely zero chance (for players to get off the floor). I hate it because I love it,” he said. “That’s what is great about college (basketball). You’re experiencing it with your student body. Having said that, we can’t have players getting hurt and crowds are aggressive. Fans are aggressive.”

Calling back to Filipowski’s interaction with a fan, Brownell said he “hates to hear” about the injury, but another possibility is a player retaliating in the midst of the chaos.

“I do worry about confrontation, somebody’s getting in a kid’s face,” he said. “What’s going to happen is not only is a player going to get hurt…you’re going to have some kid get in the face or walk up on a player and the player is going to respond in a way that nobody is going to like because he feels threatened and then we’re going to have a real problem.”

Regarding the state of court storm, Brownell noted he’s “starting to lean” to its end because of these risks. He says it is his job and the promise he made to his players’ parents that he would take care of their children.

This brings us to what it means for Clemson on a larger scale, including Clemson’s long-time tradition of meeting at the Paw. Granted, Clemson’s tradition is not considered “storming the field” because Tiger fans have been doing it since Memorial Stadium opened in 1942 and come on the field win or lose to meet their favorite players and coaches, which is allowed by Clemson Athletics.

However, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips released a statement after Saturday’s incident, and it could be indicative of change.

“The safety of our student athletes is always our top priority. We have been and will continue to be, in contact with Duke and Wake Forest regarding what happened following today’s game. Across college athletics, we have seen far too many of these incidents put individuals at serious risk, and it will require the cooperation of all – including spectators – to ensure everyone’s well-being. As a conference, we will continually assess with our schools the best way to protect our student-athletes, coaches and fans.”

That last sentence tells the story, and it echoes what Wake Forest athletic director John Currie said during a postgame interview about how the program “looks forward”  to discussions about court storming and field storming.

If a decision follows, it will likely be the end of court-storming as we know it. It could also take them down the same avenue in college football, and ban fans entering the field.

There have been incidents in the past at Clemson football games where fans were injured. Several fans were injured after Clemson wins over South Carolina in 2002 and over No. 3 FSU in 2003. However, precautions were put in place because of those incidents.

Could Clemson’s historic tradition come to an end? Not at the moment, but after Saturday’s events, it is definitely some thing to keep an eye on.