Policies to punish school’s vary, but the ACC is the only Big Six conference which doesn’t issue fines for court-storming.

The issue of court-storming claimed a prominent place in college basketball’s discourse again Saturday following another postgame incident involving a horde of celebrating students.

Duke star Kyle Filipowski suffered a knee injury in the frantic aftermath of the No. 8 Blue Devils’ 83-79 loss at Wake Forest after more than one Wake Forest fan appeared to collide with him.

The 6-foot-11 forward is merely the latest high-profile college basketball player to come out worse for the wear after a run-in with fans after a game.

At a moment of significant change in college sports, addressing the potential dangers of postgame fan behavior hasn’t been a particular point of emphasis for most collegiate administrators.

The ACC doesn’t penalize schools for court-storming, and it’s not the only league that looks the other way on fans rushing the floor following big wins. Big Ten officials don’t fine schools until a third offense.

Others, such as the Big East, Big 12 and SEC, assess fines to schools following court-storming instances inside their arenas. Fines in the Big East are just $5,000, whereas the SEC fines offenders $100,000 the first time.

Second offenses cost $250,000, and third offenses will require $500,000. But even the SEC’s hefty and escalating fining structure has proved an ineffective deterrent this year.

LSU was fined $100,000 this week after fans rushed the floor following a victory against Kentucky. South Carolina and Arkansas have also been assessed $100,000 fines this season.

Whether it’s through increased financial penalty, the threat of legal consequences or some other measure, look for conferences to find ways to deter court storming with greater urgency over the following months.

Here’s a look at some of the recent court-rushing incidents that have brought us to this point.

Caitlin Clark’s collision

Iowa women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark had to be helped off the court after a fan collided with her following Ohio State’s 100-92 upset win over the Hawkeyes on Jan. 21.

The all-time leading scorer in Division I women’s basketball needed assistance to get to the locker room after the collision. Ultimately, she was not seriously injured.

“Kind of scary, could’ve caused a pretty serious injury to me. It knocked the wind out of me,” Clark said after the game. “Their AD already came and apologized to me, so I appreciate that.

This is what comes with the territory. I’m sure they tried their best to do whatever they could [to keep it safe]. Obviously, it didn’t work, and that’s disappointing.”

Painter makes a plea

Purdue coach Matt Painter voiced his displeasure with the Big Ten’s crowd control measures after Nebraska upset the then-No. 1 Boilermakers on Jan. 9. Following each of Purdue’s four losses this season, opposing fans have rushed the floor.

“Someone’s gonna get hurt,” Painter said. “And it could be a student, could be one of Nebraska’s guys, could be one of our guys. Could be someone working the scores bench. Could be anybody. But like I don’t know why people don’t get ahead of it. It’s happened a lot and it’s just – I don’t understand.”

Memphis vs. Tulane incident

Tulane opened an investigation last month after a fan was seen pushing Memphis star David Jones during a court storm following Tulane’s 81-79 win over the Tigers on Jan. 21. In a statement announcing their investigation, university officials condemned the fan’s actions.

“This type of behavior is unacceptable and these are actions that are not condoned by Tulane Athletics or the University,” Tulane told ESPN.

“We are following up on this matter and have been in contact with the University of Memphis and the American Athletic Conference office.

Ensuring the safety of everyone at Tulane Athletics events will always be our highest priority and we will continue to be vigilant in this regard moving forward.”

Filipowski’s injury gets attention

Filipowski injured his knee Saturday after Wake Forest fans rushed to the center of the floor following the Demon Deacons’ 83-79 win over the Blue Devils in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Fans stormed the court before the clock expired in an apparent security failure that saw Filipowski tangled in the middle of a stampede around midcourt. Teammates came to his aid and had to help him to the locker room as he hobbled on one leg.

“I felt a bunch of hits on my body,” Filipowski told Greensboro, North Carolina, CBS affiliate WFMY. “This one was the worst of them. Like I said, it’s just really ridiculous how, you know, that situation’s handled.

I’ve already heard that there (are) some videos of (me) getting punched in the back, so I absolutely feel like it was personal, intentional for sure. There’s no reason why they see a big guy like me trying to work my way off the court and can’t work their way around me. There’s no excuse for that.”

Wake Forest athletic director John Currie addressed the situation in a statement released Saturday night.

“On behalf of Wake Forest, we sincerely regret the unfortunate on-court incident following this afternoon’s men’s basketball game and hope the involved Duke student-athlete is doing better,” the statement read.

“I called Duke Vice President and Director of Athletics Nina King and ACC Senior Associate Commissioner Paul Brazeau immediately after the game and expressed our sincere regret for the situation and our concern for the Duke student-athlete’s well-being.

Although our event management staff and security had rehearsed postgame procedures to protect the visiting team and officials, we clearly must do better.

I appreciate the postgame comments of Duke Head Coach Jon Scheyer and I am in complete agreement that something more must be done about the national phenomenon of court and field storming and Wake Forest looks forward to being a part of those conversations.”

A potential solution

Stopping hundreds of jubilant college kids from reaching the court is a tall task for any arena security team. But a well-executed safety plan can minimize altercations between fans and players.

Fans flooded the floor at Iowa State for the first time in eight years on Jan. 27 after the Cyclones knocked off No. 7 Kansas 79-75.

While the scene was chaotic, it was controlled to a certain extent with the help of a clearly established protocol. In this instance, it was a group of security personnel dressed in bright orange forming a human wall to separate the postgame handshake line from the mayhem on the floor.

Additionally, The Associated Press reported that gates had been installed in front of the Iowa State student section to funnel students in a single direction.

ISU learned the hard way how court-storming can go wrong in 2015 when a reporter’s leg was broken in a crush of humanity as fans formed the floor to celebrate a win over rival Iowa.