BIRMINGHAM – The Southeastern Conference announced om Monday that Mississippi State University will be fined $500,000 for violating the league’s “access to competition area policy” after fans stormed the field on Saturday after a 24-20 win against Arizona State.
While the SEC does allow for programs to adopt their own policy to allow fans on the field, the conference dictates that such a celebration can only take place once all visiting team personnel and officials have left the field.
The official SEC 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.”
The conference adopted harsher penalties for field storming after an incident at Tennessee in 2022 where Alabama players were surrounded by Vols fans. In 2023 the SEC revised its policy for schools to incur greater fines for repeated violations, $100,000 for a first offense, $250,000 for a second and $500,000 for a third. This year, the conference moved away from the scaling system in favor of a flat $500,000 fine.
The Bulldogs scored a dramatic game-winning touchdown in the final minute to secure an upset of the then-No. 12-ranked Sun Devils, responding to a 20-point run by the visitors to secure the program’s first win against a ranked opponent since the 2022 Egg Bowl. The fans stormed the field for the first time since a 2004 win against Florida.
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