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Three SEC schools have been fined $500,000 each for field storming so far this college football season.
Week 6
Kentucky’s upset victory over LSU on Oct. 10 cost the school half a million dollars.
The Wildcats were the first SEC football team to be fined for fans storming the field this season, after the raucous crowd at 60,000-seat Kroger Field rushed down from the stands immediately following the game-winning two-point conversion from quarterback Kenneth Minchey in overtime. Kentucky, unranked prior to the matchup, won 35–34, handing Lane Kiffin’s squad—ranked No. 10 coming into the game—their second loss of the season. Kentucky rose to No. 15 in the new AP Top 25 poll, and LSU fell to No. 24.
LSU will receive the $500,000 payment from Kentucky, according to the SEC’s policy. Since 2023, fines incurred during conference games have been paid to the opposing school; if an SEC team is fined while playing a non-conference opponent, fines are paid to the SEC’s post-graduate scholarship fund.
The SEC’s 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.” However, with SEC permission, fans are allowed to celebrate on the playing surface once all visiting team personnel and game officials have safely exited the field or court.
This is just the second field storming fine since the SEC changed its rules ahead of the 2025 football season so that every violation would result in a $500,000 fine. Prior to that, a first offense cost $100,000, a repeat offense increased the fine to $250,000, and it rose to $500,000 for a third.
In 2025, Mississippi State was the only SEC football team fined for storming the field, following the unranked Bulldogs’ upset of No. 12 Arizona State in Week 2 last season.
So far, last year’s policy changes are coinciding with fewer incidents—after eight SEC teams were fined a total of $1.6 million in 2024.
Week 7
Tennessee was fined $500,000 for fans at the nearly 102,000-seat Neyland Stadium storming the field on Oct. 17 after the No. 14 Volunteers beat No. 6 Alabama 26–10. Alabama will receive the fine money.
Alabama-Tennessee is one of the SEC’s older rivalries, dating back to 1901. The Crimson Tide lead the overall series 61–41–7, and had won 15 consecutive matchups between 2007 and 2021. However, Tennessee has won its last three games against Alabama in Knoxville dating back to 2022—also storming the field after both previous wins, resulting in separate $100,000 fines under the SEC’s old policy.
Week 8
South Carolina was fined $500,000 by the SEC for fans storming the field at 79,000-seat Williams-Brice Stadium after a game-winning field goal as time expired against No. 11 Tennessee on Oct. 24.
The Gamecocks were actually slight betting favorites ahead of kickoff, but the win over their ranked SEC rival vaulted South Carolina to 4–3 after a disappointing 2–3 start that included three consecutive conference losses. Tennessee receives the $500,000 fine from South Carolina, effectively canceling out the money they paid to Alabama for storming the field in Knoxville in Week 7.
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