The crowd that stormed the court at Kansas State University Monday night also has spurred considerable concern around the country about the possible dangers of such behavior.

Video showing Coach Bill Self being squished against the scorer’s table and Jamari Traylor being body-checked by an overzealous fan illustrate why this topic warrants further discussion at athletic conferences throughout the nation.

Many observers see storming the court as part of the collegiate basketball tradition, but they’re also starting to see the potential for that tradition getting out of hand. Even Self said after the game, “I think court-storming’s fine, but surely you can get security to the point where a player’s safety’s not involved …”

Well, maybe. In their apology the day after the game, Kansas State officials said security personnel were unable to get in position quickly enough to provide a protective shield for the Jayhawk players and coaches. A better security plan might have helped, but the force of the Wildcat crowd on Monday night would have been hard for a human shield to contain. Would a PA request from Bruce Weber or another official have had much effect? Probably not.

Some observers have noted several practical steps that can be taken: coaches removing their first-string players from the game early or security people forming a phalanx in front of the opponents’ bench before the final buzzer. Those steps might work, but they interfere with the play in a close game, like the one on Monday night.

The point is, expecting a crowd bent on storming the court to exercise some self-control is a pretty hopeless task. That’s why it’s at least worth considering simply putting a stop to this practice. The Southeastern Conference now has a policy that allows it to assess a $5,000 fine for the first court-storming offense and $25,000 or $50,000 for additional incidents. Perhaps other conferences should consider similar, or even tougher, penalties.

Coach Self graciously noted after Monday’s game that his team could have squelched the celebration by simply winning the game. There’s no tradition of storming the court in Allen Fieldhouse, both because Jayhawk fans expect to win there and because of fieldhouse security measures. The same restraint isn’t practiced at Memorial Stadium after a rare football win.

It’s easy to see how the scene at Bramlage Coliseum could have gotten ugly if Traylor and perhaps some other players hadn’t shown admirable restraint. The Big 12 and the NCAA shouldn’t wait for injuries to occur and lawsuits to be filed before addressing this potentially dangerous situation.