Ole Miss’s big win against No. 4 Tennessee on Wednesday is going to cost them a lot of cash.
The SEC announced today that the Rebels would be fined $500,000 for a third offense under the league’s revised access to competition area policy—storming the court.
Ole Miss Fined for Court Storm Against Tennessee
A 78-76 victory at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion in Oxford helped the Rebels’ tournament placings, propelling them up to the seven line, according to ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi. Still, a courtstorming by the fans drew ire from SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey.
“Keith Carter and the Ole Miss leadership have been diligent in updating its postgame basketball court access policy, and it was encouraging to see the vast majority of fans obey the new policy by remaining in the stands immediately following Wednesday’s game with Tennessee,” Sankey said.
“It is disappointing that a small number of fans have created this problem, but the postgame court incursion by fans who disregarded the policy violates the expectations of the access to competition area policy.”
“As the Conference continues to review field rushing and court storming policy, we need to consider all that is now being done to adjust fan behavior, including reducing or removing financial penalties when the administrative leadership is ignored by a small group of people.”
“Additionally, the game was disrupted when debris was thrown onto the court, which is a violation of SEC sportsmanship policies, and individuals identified as having thrown debris are to be banned from attending future athletic events.”
The SEC’s new competition area policy was adopted at the 2023 SEC Spring Meetings. Ole Miss’ first citation occurred after a 2023 football field storm against LSU, and its second occurred after a 2024 win against Georgia.
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Third and subsequent offenses incur a $500,000 fine under the new policy.
The Rebels will close out their regular season in Gainesville tomorrow against the No. 5 Florida Gators, hoping to earn a top-four seed in the SEC tournament.
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