No. 18 Virginia football earned its ranking thanks to a monumental performance Sept. 26, a primetime win in double overtime over then-No. 8 Florida State. The win afforded the students an opportunity they had lacked since 2019 — a chance to storm the field at Scott Stadium.
They took advantage, stampeding onto the field and enveloping Cavaliers and Seminoles alike. When they did, the students violated both Virginia and ACC policies, earning the University a $50,000 fine. They also brought significant harm upon themselves — 19 students were hospitalized and many others were hurt. Despite this, statements made by the University administration were weak, casting doubt on the University’s commitment to its own policies.
The strongest statement against the field storming came in a relatively noncommittal email sent Oct. 7 from Executive Vice President Jennifer Davis. In the statement, Davis began by praising the environment and success of the game before expressing regret over the injuries. She described the potential ramifications of violating the ACC’s policy, including fines, safety risks and “criminal sanctions.”
Ultimately, though, Davis merely asks students to “commit to adhering to safety guidelines.” She elaborated, saying “that means not only following the ACC policy but also celebrating responsibly, watching out for each other, and making sure that our excitement about the game never puts anyone at risk.”
Yes, Davis requests that students follow the policy. But through evasive wording, no true implication of blame and no description of new security measures or penalties for repeat offenses, Davis’ statement suggests the University is not particularly concerned about another field storm.
Another statement — made by Interim President Paul Mahoney during a Faculty Senate meeting Oct. 3 — was equally noncommittal. Mahoney went so far as to say that police threatened to use pepper spray on students who mounted the goalposts after the upset, yet he provided no strong statement against field stormings and said little about changes to security protocols.
“That is obviously something that the University leadership is going to have to look at very carefully and come up with additional protocols going forward,” Mahoney said.
It is entirely unclear, based on the statements by Mahoney and Davis, whether or not University leadership intends to make any changes to the policies around field storming despite clear demonstrations of those policies’ flaws. With these policies relevant in Charlottesville for the first time since 2019, it is worth taking a closer look at the actual requirements dictated by the University and conference policies.
University policy prohibits guests, including students, from entering the field of play at Scott Stadium “at any time.” It further notes that “only participants, coaches, officials and authorized personnel shall be allowed in the competition area before, during and at the conclusion of the competition.”
The official ACC policy contains similar language, limiting access to the field at any time to “only student-athletes, coaches, officials and authorized personnel.” The policy imposes a $50,000 fine for a first offense, increasing to $100,000 for a second offense and $200,000 for further violations. Fines accumulate per school rather than per sport — should Virginia basketball earn an upset victory at home, for example, a court storming would trigger the $100,000, adding onto the burden imposed by the Sept. 26 win. The fines continue to accumulate over a two-year rolling period that includes all seasons.
Most importantly, the ACC policy stipulates that players and staff on the visiting team, as well as officials, must have time to exit before spectators can access the field. At the time of the announcement in late July, ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said there is “critical importance to ensure that adequate time for all members of the visiting team to safely leave the field of play.”
Yet this piece of the policy, which is not written on Virginia’s field policy website, was demonstrably ineffective Sept. 26. Seminole receiver Squirrel White was enveloped immediately upon failing to break up the game-ending interception — fortunately, White was not injured. Video circulated of Virginia fans approaching, gesturing towards and taunting Florida State players while they walked off the field. It was clear that, contrary to the requirements of the policy, visiting personnel and officials were given no time to exit the field of play.
The same indifference shows in other cases. Two other ACC schools have incurred the $50,000 fine so far this season — Florida State, thanks to a win over then-No. 8 Alabama, and No. 13 Georgia Tech following a home win over then-No. 12 Clemson. In both cases, students made their way onto the field in a matter of seconds.
But video of both incidents makes it clear that the Virginia field storming was an entirely different degree of severity. The lack of a barrier between the field and fans on the Hill likely motivated this difference. Nothing stopped the fans from entering the field of play as soon as the game ended. The resulting differences in speed and intensity caused 19 injuries — neither Florida State nor Georgia Tech reported any student injuries following their field rushes. Despite the injuries, severity and blatant nature of the violation, the ACC rendered identical judgment — identical fines, identical press releases, identical explanations.
Do any ACC schools actually care about the changes to the conference policy? Florida State and Georgia Tech seemingly made little effort to take responsibility for the field stormings, accepting them as a fact of life. Based on videos of the incidents, security did not try to stop the storming from occurring. The same is true in Virginia’s case — the students on the Hill, who pushed up to the front of the grass as the game grew closer and closer to its conclusion, faced no resistance. The yellow-shirted security personnel moved aside, perhaps recognizing that the unique proximity of the Hill to the field made any attempt to mitigate field storming a fool’s errand.
Quests for further clarification also fall short. Ahead of Virginia’s matchup with Washington State, Vice President and Chief Student Affairs Officer Kenyon Bonner sent an email to the student body. The email once again affirmed the restrictions stipulated in Virginia’s policy but did not describe any changes to security or additional restrictions to prevent or limit field stormings. To improve safety on the Hill, Bonner noted that a designated center pathway was added to the center of the Hill for students to enter and exit. The change has seemingly no impact on the students’ ability to access the field.
Uncertainty remains as to the future effectiveness of the ACC’s field storming policy, but it is clear that it has not achieved its desired goal. The commitment of Virginia and other ACC schools to the policy appears shaky at best. Regardless, the resounding Cavalier victory will live on in NCAA history as both a historic upset and a rowdy field storm — one that sent 19 students to the hospital.
Read More
Wearing many caps: Tyler Fenwick is a key driving force behind Virginia swimming
By Leigh Bailey | 11 hours ago“I just want [the athletes] to be the best version of themselves," Fenwick said. "We want them to look back on their four-year experience here and look at it as the best time of their life."
Bowl bound: Virginia completes furious comeback, wins 100th Homecomings game
By Theo Moll | 19 hours agoAfter a 22-20 win over the Cougars, the Cavaliers advanced their win streak to five games.
First-ever Washington State matchup could be a trap, but No. 18 Virginia isn’t falling for it
By Ben McNiff | 2 days ago”Your record halfway through the season doesn’t matter,” Elliott said. “Now it’s okay, yeah, it’s game seven. But really, I need day one energy and day one focus.”
