Derrian Carter, Greenville NewsWed, January 14, 2026 at 12:43 AM UTC·1 min readCLEMSON — Clemson basketball's student section did not have pool noodles for the first time this season for the Jan. 13 game vs Boston College after the ACC made a policy change.
According to Clemson basketball sports information director Ben Winterrowd, the conference deemed the pool noodles an artificial noise maker. He was unsure whether the decision is an ACC-wide policy or just directed at Clemson.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe NCAA prohibits using musical instruments, amplified music, canned music or artificial noisemakers while the game is in progress, except during timeouts, intermissions and instant replay reviews by the officials. Examples of artificial noisemakers are "Thundersticks," whistles, bells or horns.
The pool noodles appeared to be used as a visual distraction rather than the audible one. Clemson students had them at the Tigers' last home game against SMU on Jan. 7.
The ACC policy change happened before No. 21 Clemson (14-3, 4-0 ACC) hosted Boston College (7-9, 0-3) on Jan. 13 (7 p.m. ET, ACC Network) at Littlejohn Coliseum.
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: ACC pool noodle ban impacts students at Clemson basketball games
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