Iowa’s athletics department apologized after a fan held a cellphone in the face of Nebraska men’s basketball coach Fred Hoiberg during a court storming on Tuesday night.
The Hawkeyes upset No. 9 Nebraska 57-52, leading Iowa’s student section to rush the floor at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. While Hoiberg went through the handshake line, a fan taking video rushed up to Hoiberg. The Nebraska coach slapped the cellphone and in the process, he smacked an Iowa staff member in the right ear. The staffer turned around quickly and Hoiberg grabbed his arm, pointed at the fan and then kept shaking hands.
— Certified Ball Knower 🇺🇸 (@CrtfdBallKnower) February 18, 2026
“The University of Iowa athletics department implemented its court‑intrusion guidelines following last evening’s Iowa vs. Nebraska men’s basketball game,” Iowa athletics said in a statement. “Unfortunately, an individual gained access to the court through a restricted area, directly confronting Coach Hoiberg and putting Nebraska players, coaches, and staff in a reactive situation. We apologize for this incident and will conduct a review of our procedures and security measures to determine what adjustments may be needed to further strengthen our protocols and help prevent similar incidents in the future.”
Security stood in front of the handshake line and the fans celebrating at center court, but the fan snuck between the Iowa bench and the scorer’s table and was chased away by an Iowa official.
Fred Hoiberg slapping the camera from an Iowa fan. College basketball is comedy this year🤣 pic.twitter.com/vni46pc7UN
— CreighTakes (@CreighTakes) February 18, 2026
Nebraska athletics declined to comment. The Big Ten also released a statement.
“The conference has discussed the situation with both institutions, is taking no action in relation to Coach Hoiberg, and appreciates the efforts by Iowa’s administration to address postgame security protocols in the interest of preventing a similar occurrence from happening in the future,” the conference said.
Tuesday’s exchange was the second time in recent weeks a court storm has created controversy. After North Carolina fans rushed the court following their team’s win over Duke on Feb. 7, Blue Devils coach Jon Scheyer said a staff member got hit in the face. The ACC fined UNC $50,000 in accordance with its court-storming policy.