How much was UNC basketball fined by the ACC for court assault against Duke? Conference rules
North Carolina basketball earned a thrilling win over rival Duke on Saturday, Feb. 7, but will feel its pockets lighten as a result.
The Atlantic Coast Conference announced Sunday, Feb. 8, that it would fine the Tar Heels $50,000 for fans who stormed the court at the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, following Seth Trimble’s game-winning shot.
Announcement
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“The Atlantic Coast Conference announced today that the University of North Carolina has been fined for violating the league’s safety policy for events following the men’s basketball game against Duke University on February 7,” the league wrote in a press release.
“The conference event safety policy is designed to protect the safety and well-being of all student-athletes, coaches, officials and fans.”
The fine is $50,000 for UNC, as it was the first violation of the program. The fine increases to $100,000 for a second offense and to $200,000 for each subsequent offense within two years.
Announcement
All court assault or court assault fines collected under the policy are directed to the Weaver-James-Corrigan-Swofford Postgraduate Scholarship Fund, benefiting ACC student-athletes pursuing college education.
In addition to the court assault, Duke basketball coach Jon Scheyer said after the game that members of his staff “got punched in the face.”
“It’s hard to talk about the game when I was most worried about the safety of our players,” Scheyer said. “I don’t want to make it, but… some staff members got punched in the face… that’s not what the game is about. It was a scary ending.”
The University of North Carolina did not respond to USA TODAY Sports’ request for comment on Scheyer’s request.
Announcement
Fans actually stormed the pitch on two separate occasions. Fans rushed onto the court for the first time after Timble’s 3-pointer, but the clock still showed 0.4 seconds remaining in the game. They rushed the field once again after the clock officially struck triple zero, however, it was treated as an accident by the conference.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: UNC basketball fined by ACC for fans storming court after Duke win