ACC Fines Four Universities $50,000 Each for Violating Event Security Policy
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) has imposed significant fines on several universities for violating its athletic event security policy during recent football games. Stanford University, the University of Virginia, Georgia Tech, and Florida State each received a $50,000 penalty for allowing fans to prematurely enter the field of play, disrupting the safe exit of visiting team personnel and officials.
The ACC's policy, implemented this summer, mandates that visiting team personnel and officials must be able to safely exit the field or court before fans can access these areas. This rule applies to football, men's basketball, and women's basketball for the 2025-26 academic year. The fines serve as a stern warning, emphasizing the seriousness of compliance with the ACC's athletic event security policy.
The fines are structured to escalate over a two-year period. A first offense incurs a $50,000 fine, a second offense results in a $100,000 fine, and a third and subsequent offenses attract a $200,000 fine. Notably, these penalties accumulate by school rather than by individual sport. The ACC's policy restricts access to competition areas to only student-athletes, coaches, officials, and authorized personnel before, during, and after games.
The fines collected under this policy directly benefit ACC student-athletes through the Weaver-James-Corrigan-Swofford Postgraduate Scholarship Fund, which supports conference athletes pursuing graduate education. The ACC's action underscores its commitment to maintaining a safe and secure environment for all participants in its sporting events.
