Shane DaleAssistant Sports Editor

If there were a study that showed the number of times per year fans in a NCAA football or basketball game rushed the field or court in celebration, what would the trend show?

An exponential increase in celebrations from year to year, in all likelihood.

Field and court-rushing celebrations have become commonplace and unexciting.

Fail to save the celebrations for truly special moments, and they become meaningless.

Not to mention dangerous. Tucson High School basketball player Joe Kay might not be able to play volleyball for Stanford because of one such court-rushing incident.

After he led his Tucson High team to an upset over Salpointe High School, Tucson fans mobbed him, twisted his neck and caused him to have a stroke. It's unknown whether Kay will be able to walk again.

With that in mind, consider the following (in)appropriate times to celebrate a team's win.

Appropriate: When your unranked team beats a top 10 opponent.

California basketball fans rushed the court when the Golden Bears beat Arizona last week; understandable, because Arizona is one of the most respected programs in the country. California doesn't beat ranked teams very often.

Inappropriate: When your team is ranked higher than the other.

Yes, the way the UA-Stanford game ended was very exciting for the 7,000-plus in tiny Maples Pavilion. But Stanford was 19-0 and No. 2 in the nation. Arizona had already lost five games - four in the Pac-10.

Cardinal fans: Congrats on the great season, but please pick and choose your court rushes a little better.

Appropriate: When your team hasn't won in a long, long time.

When Arizona football beat Washington last season and ended a string of seven straight losses, it was time to party.

The Wildcats won a Pac-10 home game for the first time in three years - and they weren't going to beat No. 2 USC in their final home game of the season the next week.

If students didn't rush the field after that one, there would have been cause for concern

Inappropriate: When your team just won a big game the week before.

Had Arizona won the week before, the Washington celebration would have been a bit out of place - even if the previous win was on the road.

Appropriate: When your team just beat its biggest rival for the first time in a long time.

In the late '80s, early '90s, Arizona football beat ASU for nine straight seasons. The Sun Devils blew out the Wildcats in Tempe when Arizona went for consecutive win No. 10.

Memory doesn't serve if ASU fans rushed the field, but it would have been odd if they didn't.

Inappropriate: When your team just beat its biggest rival for the 10th straight time.

Say Arizona beat ASU for consecutive win No. 10. Had the Wildcats beaten the Devils back in Tucson the following year for No. 11, would the crowd have rushed the field?

Probably not. The game likely would have ended with a golf clap, followed by some light drinking on Fourth Avenue. And rightfully so.

Why would you want to give your rival the sense that another victory was so unexpected, not to mention motivation for whooping your team next year?

Appropriate: When your team clinches a bowl bid or tournament berth.

It happens every year: A no-name Division I college basketball team wins its conference tournament, earning an NCAA tournament berth for the first time in half a century, or perhaps, ever. Though the school may have an enrollment of 2,000, expect to see every one of them storm the court and celebrate with the players - responsibly.

Inappropriate: When your team hasn't won yet.

LSU at Kentucky, Nov. 9, 2002: Ahead 33-30, the Kentucky football team was about to upset the Tigers.

As LSU quarterback Marcus Randall geared up for a final Hail Mary pass from his own 25, Lexington fans began to storm the field.

After Tiger receiver Devery Henderson caught a miracle pass for a 75-yard touchdown, the replays showed the reaction of an exuberant LSU football team - and a lot of jaw-dropped, stupid-looking Kentucky fans who had left their seats just a bit early.

If you're going to rush the field (or court), make sure the game is either: A) over, or B) out of reach.

A 3-point game isn't over in football or basketball until the clock hits zero.

Shane Dale is a political science senior. He can be reached at sports@wildcat.arizona.edu.