The two Southeastern Conference schools whose fans rushed the field following separate games Saturday will be fined a combined $350,000 under security protocols put in place by the conference last year.
As reported by Sportico, Arkansas will be fined $250,000 as a second-time offender following its win over No. 4 Tennessee, a fee that will be paid to its opponent, according to a statement from the conference. Vanderbilt will be fined $100,000 as a first-time offender, and will owe that to No. 1 Alabama. After the Commodores shocked the top-ranked Tide and the college football world, Vandy fans ripped down a football goalpost, carried it more than two miles and dropped it in the Cumberland River.
"It was a familiar sight on Saturday in what proved to be a wild slate of Week 6 games," Sportico's Eben Novy-Williams wrote. "For the first time in almost a decade, five teams ranked in the Top 11 lost on the same day. In four of those games, home fans stormed the field following the final whistle. The other two were in the Big Ten—Washington’s upset of No. 10 Michigan and Minnesota’s upset of No. 11 USC."
Last year, the SEC increased its fines for both football and basketball storming, Novy-Williams reported. Under the new policy, the first offense will cost a school $100,000, the second will cost $250,000 and all future violations would cost $500,000. The slate for each school was wiped clean when the policy was implemented.
The Big Ten’s policies are less clear. According to Novy-Williams, citing ESPN reporting, a “discretionary fine” can be made for schools who repeatedly fail to provide security for visiting teams’ players. "Other leagues have various policies, particularly for basketball games, where the issue is more acute," Novy-Williams wrote. "The Pac-12’s, for example, can be as high as $100,000 for repeat offenders; the West Coast Conference established new fine system starting last season.
"In 2022, the Big 12 hired Oak View Group to review its stadium safety policies, and earlier this year it fined UCF $25,000 for a basketball storming. Kansas State is among the Big 12 schools that have tried to come up with creative ways to satisfy fan desire while also ensuring safety."
“It gets scary at times,” Kanas Sate athletic director Gene Taylor told Sportico earlier this year. “It can be nerve-wracking with that much of a crowd … But I think continuing to talk about it and find other ways to celebrate with student fans, whether it’s going up into the stands and bringing players to fans, opposed to them going on the court. Obviously, fines aren’t helping.”
When asked about the post-game scene during an on-field interview, Razorbacks head coach Sam Pittman posited that his athletic director, Hunter Yurachek, was going to be upset by the field-storming at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. “Or maybe he won’t be," Pittman said. "Right now I don’t care. Go Hogs, baby!”
