- Hillsboro Hops at Hillsboro Ballpark (Oregon) - August 15
- Off To The Races at Colonial Downs Racetrack - August 23
- Hoos And Hooves Polo Tailgate at King Family Vineyards - Sept. 14
As part of the ACC Kickoff media event this week, some changes that may impact fans were announced. At least if you're the group celebration type of fan.
The league announced that there will be fines to the offending school if fans storm the court or fields of play in football, men's basketball, or women's basketball. The ACC left an exception for when "spectators may access the competition area following a contest" by stating that "visiting team personnel and officials must have the opportunity to safely exit the competition area" first. Here is the full wording of the conference's news release:
"The elevated expectations for event security plans in men’s and women’s basketball and football will require that only student-athletes, coaches, officials, and authorized personnel are allowed in the competition area before, during, and at the conclusion of any competition. Further, visiting team personnel and officials must have the opportunity to safely exit the competition area before spectators may access the competition area following a contest. These plans must be reviewed by an independent third party by the start of the 2026-27 academic year.
Breaches of the event security policy will result in a fine that increases for each occurrence over a rolling two-year period – 1st occurrence: $50k; 2nd occurrence: $100k; and 3rd and subsequent occurrences: $200k. Occurrences accumulate per school rather than per sport. Any fines will be put into the Weaver-James-Corrigan-Swofford Postgraduate Scholarship account."
The exception clause in there seems to be in place to allow places like Clemson to continue with traditions like its "Gathering at the Paw" after games. Tiger football coach Dabo Swinney commented on the change during the ACC Kickoff event: "I think they'll come up with a good plan that hopefully will achieve both objectives," Swinney said Thursday. "Getting the opponents off the field properly ... but also being able to then get our team to the Paw, let the fans on, do the alma mater and honor the tradition that we've all enjoyed at Clemson for a long time."
This policy change has led to fan discussion as expected. That includes these message board threads on The Sabre: here and here.
There was also this poll spotted on Twitter/X. A pair of Sabre polls recreate that question so you can weigh in below. After you vote, check out the weekly fan selections as well!
The ACC has implemented rules against court/field storming. In your mind these punishments are…#ACCKickoff #GoHeels #TheBrotherhood #GoDeacs #GoPack
— Sports Night (@Sports_Night) July 22, 2025
Fan(s) Of The Week
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Feature Photo Of The Week
It's almost time for football at Scott Stadium. UVA kicks off against Coastal Carolina on August 30 at 6 p.m.
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