The Southeastern Conference revealed last week its updated policy for field and court storming. Greg Sankey, SEC commissioner, made the announcement on the final day of the SEC Spring Meeting in Destin, Fla.
According to Sports Illustrated, the new plan schools that violate the field and court storming policy will be fined $500,000 for each violation.
In previous years, the SEC implemented a tiered system of fines and punishments for fans who stormed the court or field. In 2024, the SEC fined “an offending school $100,000 for a first offense with the number growing to $250,000 and $500,000 for continued violations.”
Related: Vanderbilt Introduces Court-Storming Countdown Clock Following Nearly $1M in Fines
Several SEC schools found themselves facing steep fines in 2024 as students continued to ignore rules and pleas to stop court storming. Vanderbilt University, in particular, racked up $850,000 in fees.
When Oklahoma University students stormed the football field after the Sooners defeated Alabama, the school incurred a $200,000 fine and an additional $100,000 charge because the game clock had not reached zero when students rushed onto the field.
ESPN reported that the steep fines will be waived if students do not rush the field until after the visiting team and the game officials have retreated to the locker room. Sankey said, “The motivation was 'field rushing is field rushing, the first time or the 18th time.' The random nature of, if you're the one getting rushed, it doesn't feel good. It might be the first time (it happened) there, but it might be your sixth time in a row, literally."
"We try to set some expectations to the fan base of 'We'll welcome your celebration, but let's let the team from the visiting institution and the officials depart,'" Sankey said.
