SEC fines Ole Miss $500K for court storming, mulls easing future penalties

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — The Southeastern Conference fined Ole Miss $500,000 on Friday for violating league policy that prohibits fans from storming courts and said it needs to consider reducing or eliminating future penalties if a school does its part to adjust fan behavior and is then ignored by a small group.

"A small number of fans” rushed the court following the Rebels' 78-76 victory over No. 4 Tennessee on Wednesday. The school also was cited for a game interruption because an object was thrown onto the court.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey praised Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter and his staff for their efforts in trying to keep fans in check.

“It was encouraging to see the vast majority of fans obey the new policy by remaining in the stands,” Sankey said. “It is disappointing that a small number of fans have created this problem, but the postgame court incursion by fans who disregarded the policy violates the expectations of the access to competition area policy.

“As the conference continues to review field rushing and court storming policy, we need to consider all that is now being done to adjust fan behavior including reducing or removing financial penalties when the administrative leadership is ignored by a small group of people.”

It was the third offense for Ole Miss, which was fined $100,000 after fans rushed the field following a football win against LSU in 2023 and fined $250,000 after fans rushed the field following a football win against Georgia in 2024.

In recent weeks, Georgia (against Florida) and Texas A&M (against Auburn) staved off a court storming with late-game announcements that warned of the SEC's stiff penalties.

In Athens, the public address announcer made repeated requests in the final minute for fans to wait 90 seconds — giving the Gators and officials time to leave the court — before taking to the court.

Fans followed the instructions even though the victory ended Florida's 12-game winning streak in the series. Players and coaches celebrated on the court for about a minute while fans began filling the aisles, waiting for the signal to go. Then, just as the public address announcer promised, fans were then given full access to rush the court.

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