Clemson AD explains how new ACC field storming rule will change football games
Imagine the scene.
Saturday, Aug. 30, around 11 p.m. at Clemson’s Memorial Stadium. The Tigers football team has just beaten LSU in a thrilling, top 10 ranked ACC-SEC matchup. Fans who’ve been tailgating all day want to celebrate after a big win in the 2025 season and home opener.
And instead of doing what they’ve done for decades at Clemson games — rush onto the field as soon as the game clock hits 0:00 — thousands of people are going to reach the bottom of the stairs and … stop? Take a breather? Wait until the opposing team is off the field to start the party at the 50-yard line?
It’s not hard to see how that message might fall on deaf ears.
But those safety precautions are a reality for Clemson athletics, which must tweak the tradition known as “Gathering at the Paw” to align with a new ACC field and court storming policy that affects their football games in a unique game.
The policy, announced by commissioner Jim Phillips last month, requires each ACC member school to create “event security plans” for football and basketball games that give visiting teams and officials a chance to “safely exit the competition area” before fans rush the field or court.
Schools must comply with the policy starting with the 2025-26 athletic year, and there’s an escalating fine structure for violations — $50,000 for a school’s first violation, $100,000 for a second and $200,000 for a third and any past that.
The policy has an immediate effect on Clemson, where fans are allowed to access the field after every home game and do so in droves, regardless of who the Tigers play and whether they win or lose.
Clemson athletic director Graham Neff said he understands the change might not be easy for fans, but he’s spreading a message of cooperation.
“The Gathering at the Paw tradition is really, really special at Clemson, really unique and something that we want to continue,” Neff said Tuesday. “Now it’s gotta look different. We’re going to abide by and support the new ACC policy, and we need our fans’ help with that.”
What happens when the clock hits 0:00?
Neff said Clemson plans to distribute information to fans in coming weeks about how they can Gather at the Paw while keeping in line with ACC policy. The general thought is to have some sort of waiting period after the clock hits 0:00 — 90 seconds, or perhaps two minutes — and prominently display that countdown for fans on the video boards at Memorial Stadium.
Clemson could also show notices or make public address announcements in the stadium as the fourth quarter winds down, reminding fans that there’s now a timer on their beloved tradition.
Football coach Dabo Swinney (who’s often swarmed by fans postgame) has endorsed the new policy, saying he trusts Clemson athletics will come up with a “good plan.”
“We’re trying to balance respecting the unique tradition and continuing the unique tradition that we have, while also respecting the policies that are at hand and just the safety and environment of what our postgame field looks like, particularly after charged games,” Neff said.
Clemson formalized the Gathering at the Paw in 2003, but the tradition of allowing fans on the field dates back decades to Memorial Stadium’s opening in 1942.
Frank Howard, Clemson’s coach from 1940 to 1969, encouraged the practice as a way for fans to engage with players. It’s been a staple at home games ever since.
The tradition has existed for decades, only going on pause during the 2020 season and the majority of 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Phillips, the ACC commissioner, has confirmed Clemson’s Gathering at the Paw can continue under the conference’s new policy with some tweaks. ACC senior associate commissioner for football Michael Strickland emphasized the policy is “not a Clemson rule.”
“This didn’t happen because of anything that Clemson did or Clemson fans did,” Strickland told The State last month. “We’ve had issues at a number of venues, and we’ve seen issues in other leagues, both college and professional, where there were unfortunate incidents.”
It’s on the fans to comply, Clemson says
The LSU game will be quite the proving ground for Clemson’s new field storming policy. On top of being a massive Week 1 nonconference game that doesn’t kick off until 7:30 p.m., it will also be the first football game in Clemson history where fans can buy alcohol inside the stadium.
Neff said Clemson will “staff up” with additional security at football games and evaluate its plan on a game-by-game basis (the Tigers host seven home games and could also host a College Football Playoff game, depending on seeding).
But he understands there’s only so much the university can do.
Memorial Stadium seats 81,500 people, including hundreds of students on The Hill. If even a fraction of those fans decide they want to rush the field normally after the Clemson-LSU game, a couple dozen employees aren’t going to stop them.
Physically, they can’t stop them.
Neff’s message to fans? Respect the new policy.
“I’ll double down and say it again: We need our fans’ help and support and recognition of that,” he said, adding that Clemson will do student-specific outreach. “It’s a really highly focused task for us over the coming couple weeks.”
This story was originally published August 7, 2025 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Clemson AD explains how new ACC field storming rule will change football games."
