BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Southeastern Conference announced today that Louisiana State University will be fined $250,000 related to spectator sportsmanship and the University of Mississippi will be fined $350,000 for fans rushing the field in their football games of November 9.
LSU will incur a fine of $250,000 for interruption of its contest against Alabama when fans threw debris onto the field.
Ole Miss will incur a fine of $250,000 for a second offense of the league’s current access to competition area policy when fans entered the field after the Rebels’ game versus Georgia. Ole Miss’ first offense under the current policy occurred when fans entered the field following a Rebel football victory over LSU in September 2023. In addition, Ole Miss will incur an additional fine of $100,000 due to fans entering the field prior to the end of the Georgia game.
For Conference contests, fines for violation of the access to competition area policy are paid to the opposing institution. Other sportsmanship violation fines are paid into the SEC’s post-graduate scholarship program.
The access to competition area policy states that “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.”
Financial penalties are imposed for field or court rushing violations in all sports sponsored by the Conference. Institutional penalties range from $100,000 for a first offense to $250,000 for a second offense and $500,000 for a third and subsequent offenses.
The policy was originally adopted by a vote of Conference members in 2004 and financial penalties were increased by action taken by the membership in 2015 and again in 2023.
Due to LSU fans throwing debris onto the field during its game versus Alabama, under the sportsmanship, game management and alcohol availability policies established by the Southeastern Conference, Louisiana State University will:
- Be assessed financial penalty of $250,000;
- Be required to use all available resources, including security, stadium and television video, to identify individuals who threw objects onto the playing field or at the opposing team. All individuals identified as having been involved in disrupting the game shall be prohibited from attending LSU Athletics events for the remainder of the 2024-25 academic and athletic year;
- Review and update its Athletics Department game management procedures and alcohol availability policies to prevent a recurrence of Saturday night’s disruption, which shall include an evaluation of agreed upon SEC Sportsmanship, Game Management and Alcohol policies to verify full compliance with existing standards, and
- Following completion of this review, the University shall provide a report to the Conference Office to summarize its efforts to identify and penalize offenders and its plan to enact policies to prevent future similar incidents while ensuring compliance with Conference standards.
The actions taken by the Conference are consistent with SEC Bylaws and Commissioner’s Regulations associated with the availability of alcoholic beverages at athletics events which states, “If cans or plastic bottles are used as projectiles or otherwise cause game management issues, the institution is subject to an immediate fine and suspension of the alcohol sales privilege.”
The Conference is not suspending alcohol sales privileges for Louisiana State University at this time but reserves the right to do so if other requirements outlined above are not met.
