Latest news with #fieldstorming
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
SEC says all fines for storming field, court now $500K
May 30 - Host teams in the Southeastern Conference whose fans storm the field or the court after an upset will now face a set fine of $500,000, commissioner Greg Sankey announced on Thursday at the SEC's spring meetings. The SEC had previously implemented an escalating fine system, starting at $100,000 for a first offense. The fine would then increase to $250,000 for a second offense, then all future offenses would cost the host program $500,000 apiece. "The motivation was 'field rushing is field rushing, the first time or the 18th time,'" Sankey said. "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." The SEC will also have the option to waive the fine if the opponent and the officiating crew are allowed to vacate the field before it is rushed by fans. Per SEC policy, "institutions shall limit access to competition areas to participating student-athletes, coaches, officials, support personnel and properly credentialed or authorized individuals at all times. For the safety of participants and spectators alike, at no time before, during or after a contest may spectators enter the competition area." One of the more memorable field stormings occurred last October, when Vanderbilt shocked then-No. 1 Alabama in Nashville, with fans tearing down the goal posts and carrying them to the Cumberland River. That cost Vanderbilt $100,000, which went to Alabama. The Crimson Tide also received $100,000 apiece from Tennessee and Oklahoma after both host programs upset Alabama last season. Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin recently said he understands why fans rush the field after an upset, but he is concerned with the safety of players and coaches when the storming occurs. "The fan storming thing is a little tough," Kiffin said. "They don't do it in the NFL. I get it. It's pretty cool, but then it can be aggravating because they're storming and you're worried about them hitting you, what's going on, what are they gonna do? "It's very invasive at that point. But I think if they could just let everybody out and then let the fans on so they can tear the goal post down, because that stuff is cool." --Field Level Media
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
SEC amps up fines to $500,000 for rushing field, storming court
MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The Southeastern Conference is ratcheting up penalties on schools whose fans storm the field or rush the court, doing away with an escalating fine system and now charging $500,000 per incident. 'The motivation was 'field rushing is field rushing, the first time or the 18th time,'' commissioner Greg Sankey said Thursday in announcing the decision. '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.' The conference also has the authority to wave the fine if the visiting team and officials are allowed to get to the locker room before fans descend. The new policy replaces an old one that called for an escalating fine structure that started with $100,000 for the first offense, raised to $250,000 for the second then hit $500,000 for the third and subsequent incidents. The SEC first instituted a fine structure for field storming in 2004, but it didn't stop the problem. In 2022, Tennessee fans stormed the field after ending a 15-game losing streak to Alabama. But things became congested and some of the Crimson Tide players were trapped; a video surfaced of a Tide player thrusting his arm toward a woman's head as he tried to get off the field. Last year, Vanderbilt beat Alabama at home, triggering fans to rush the field, tear down the goalposts and parade them to the Cumberland River. The Commodores were fined $100,000 and, per SEC policy, that money went to Alabama, which also received $100,000 for an incident after a loss at Tennessee last season. Vanderbilt got fined twice more last basketball season, the last of which cost $500,000. '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. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: and
New York Times
3 days ago
- General
- New York Times
SEC examining tweaks to field- and court-storming rules to get ‘best of both worlds'
DESTIN, Fla. — The SEC appears to be moving on from trying to completely stop field and court storming. The effort now may be focused on managing it, though the fines would remain. Commissioner Greg Sankey said during conference meetings Wednesday that the conference is 'working on continued policy adjustments' after a successful tweak to protocols during basketball season offered hope for less chaotic postgame proceedings. Advertisement Two years ago, worried about the safety hazard of crowds celebrating big wins by rushing fields and courts, the SEC ratcheted up the fines, starting the penalty at $100,000, then increasing to $250,000 for a second offense and $500,000 for the next one. The conference also added a twist: The fine would be paid not to the SEC but to the opposing school, which had been on the losing end of the game and victim of the field/court storm. The result: Storming continued unabated. Multiple schools incurred enough offenses to owe an opponent $500,000. But along the way, the SEC hopes it stumbled on something. This past basketball season, schools not wishing to pay bigger fines devised a system. When a big win seemed near, an announcement was made that fans would be allowed to storm the court 90 seconds after the buzzer, giving the opponent and officials time to get to the locker room. Vanderbilt and Ole Miss, set to owe $500,000 the next time they were fined, were the schools that suggested it, and the conference signed off. 'In a way the pressure to get it right worked well,' Sankey said during SEC spring meetings this week. When Georgia basketball was on the verge of upsetting Florida in February, football coach Kirby Smart, who was sitting courtside, worked with athletic director Josh Brooks to tell fans to wait until the Gators had left the court. Then-Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams also took to the microphone to explain the need to wait as the Aggies finished off a big win. 'If we can have that kind of education to let celebrations take place and get teams on the field, I think that would be a really healthy direction,' Sankey said. So something like the 90-second rule may be applied to football. The question is whether the concept will work in a more spread-out environment. Sankey was clear that the league will make an effort, especially to get the visiting team, cheerleaders and officiating crew off the field. 'Some of the things that happen in football, you've got officials on the opposite end of the field trying to swim, climb their way through,' Sankey said. 'I've watched video all the way through to count the eight (officials) get off and you just lose sight of people. We have to be continually attentive on those matters.' Advertisement Arkansas incurred a $250,000 fine after it beat Tennessee last October, and as the crowd swarmed around him, Razorbacks football coach Sam Pittman told ESPN he didn't care about the fine. Reminded of that moment Wednesday, Pittman sounded a little regretful. 'I was happy after the game, and so I said on the TV I didn't really care. At the time I probably didn't,' Pittman said, with a chuckle. 'But now that you think about it, the safety part of it is probably going to have to override all of it.' Several memorable wins last football season led to field storms around the league. Ole Miss was fined twice after its win over Georgia because fans rushed the field when they thought the game was over. (That money went to Georgia.) South Carolina forked over $250,000 to Texas A&M. Oklahoma owed Alabama a $100,000 payment after its November win. Vanderbilt also took a $100,000 hit after its win over Alabama, then another two fines in basketball. Brooks was on the SEC committee that devised the fines. He pointed out Georgia has yet to be a violator but also seemed to accept that stopping the storms wasn't realistic. 'I'm not going to pretend we've got it all figured out. But hopefully we're going to keep working with our students to where they know that becomes the new standard,' Brooks said. 'Hey, look at the clock and then they get to go on the court. Because ultimately they just want to have that viral moment, go on the court and celebrate or whatever.' Pittman doesn't think schools are just disregarding the fans and accepting the crowd storms. 'I don't think so because the money's getting so high,' he said. 'So I'm all for the safety. If we could just have a time period where the opponents could get out of there, the coaches, opponents' players, and all that, and then come down there, to me you could have the best of both worlds at that point.'
