The SEC has fined Ole Miss $350,000 and LSU $250,000 for incidents involving fans during Saturday’s home games against Georgia and Alabama.
Ole Miss incurred a $250,000 fine for a second offense of the league’s policy prohibiting fans from entering the field. The school received an additional $100,000 fine because Rebels fans entered the field with 16 seconds left in Saturday’s win against Georgia. The field was eventually cleared before another storming, which resulted in fans carrying one of the goalposts out of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Ole Miss’ first violation of the SEC’s policy against field storming occurred following last year’s win against LSU.
The $350,000 fine will go to Georgia, in accordance with SEC policy for violations in conference games. If Ole Miss incurs a third offense for field or court rushing, it would be subject to a $500,000 fine.
LSU’s fine stems from fans throwing bottles and other debris on the field during Saturday night’s game against Alabama. The SEC’s sportsmanship, game management and alcohol availability policies require LSU to pay the fine and use all video resources to identify those who threw objects onto the field at the opposing team. Those identified will be prohibited from attending LSU athletic events for the 2024-25 academic year.
LSU also must review its game management and alcohol availability policies, and report to the league its plan for penalizing violators. If requirements are not met, the SEC could eventually suspend LSU’s ability to sell alcohol at its athletic events.
The fine for LSU, which falls under the SEC’s spectator sportsmanship policy, will go toward the league’s postgraduate scholarship program.
“LSU never, under any circumstances, condones the throwing of debris onto the field of play at any of its venues,” the school said in a statement. “This kind of unsportsmanlike conduct will not be tolerated, and we will take immediate steps to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.”
