SEC levies fines for LSU, Ole Miss for spectator sportsmanship, field storming

It was a magical night in Oxford and a long one in Baton Rouge on Saturday. With that, the Southeastern Conference has responded to the fans in both college towns with punishments on Monday.

In response to the crowd-storming at Ole Miss, the SEC has announced a fine of $350,000 for the Rebels. Then, as for trash that was thrown onto the field at LSU, the SEC has levied a fine of $250,000 to the Tigers.

Those fines are in line with the SEC’s structured policy of fines for storming a playing surface. A first offense is $100,000. From there, a second offense is $250,000 and a third offense is $500,000. The hope of that policy is to limit potential contact between fans and athletes as well as limit potential injuries when large groups of people make their way onto the field.

Ole Miss took the field following a massive win at 28-10 over Georgia. They actually did so twice after rushing it too early with time still on the clock inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. The fans also tore down the goalpost and carried it out while celebrating.

It was not only a win over a top-five opponent for the Rebels, something that they’ve struggled to achieve throughout program history, for the first time since 2015 but was the first time that anyone besides Alabama had knocked off the Bulldogs before the SEC Championship or the College Football Playoff since 2020. On top of that, a loss would have essentially eliminated them from playoff contention but they’re right back in the mix now at 8-2.

LSU had the reverse outcome in what was a de facto game in the playoff against Alabama. The Crimson Tide won 42-13 over the Tigers in Death Valley. That blowout included a facemask flag that kept ‘Bama on offense in the third quarter. In response, some fans decided to throw trash onto the field at Tiger Stadium.

While poor form, the frustration was clear with LSU being all but eliminated now from the CFP at 6-3.

Ole Miss and LSU received fines for very opposite reactions by their fans at their games over the weekend. Both will be paying up at least a quarter of a million dollars, though, with this release this evening by the SEC.