SEC Fines Auburn For Fans Rushing Field After Iron Bowl Win; Ole Miss And Mizzou Fined As Well
11 years ago

For a while now, the NFL has been known as the “No Fun League.” The league has outlawed all sorts of lighthearted tomfoolery over the last few years, whether it be group touchdown celebrations, a wide receiver graphically miming the sexual congress he claims to have had with the defensive back’s wife after hauling in a seven-yard completion, or cocaine. The players need to stay focused on the game, and there’s nothing fun about a game, darnit.

Apparently, the Southeastern Conference decided to get in on the no fun, as well, because it has just levied fines against three of its schools (Auburn, Ole Miss, and Missouri) for allowing fans to rush the field after big wins this past football season, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Mizzou beat writer, Dave Matter.

I doubt Auburn gives any fucks at all about their fine for the post-Iron Bowl miracle celebration. Aside from everyone having way too much fun that night to care, if 5k is the only hit they take for what very well could have turned into a riotous victory orgy, causing every building and urethra in town to burn, then they’re doing just fine. Mizzou’s $5,000 fine for rushing the field on the same night, after their SEC East clinching win over Texas A&M, isn’t so bad, either. That amount of money is nothing to even a mid-major program, let alone two SEC schools. That’s money they shake their dicks at. Jay Jacobs and Mike Alden can pay it in straight cash, homey.

The Ole Miss fine for rushing Vaught-Hemingway’s field after a victory over LSU, however, while totally manageable, is significantly steeper.

Ole Miss only rushed the field once this year, but did so last year as well after a win over rival Mississippi State. The accumulation of fines based on field and court rushing lasts three years. After three years without an infraction a school goes back to zero. The SEC instituted these field (and basketball court) rushing rules back in 2004, according to USA Today.

Southeastern Conference schools must prevent fans from rushing onto the basketball court and football field or face fines that could reach $50,000.

A new sportsmanship policy announced Tuesday would assess a $5,000 penalty for fans coming onto the playing surfaces for football and men’s or women’s basketball. Second offense is up to $25,000, and a third and any subsequent offense could cost $50,000. Commissioner Mike Slive has discretion to levy the fines, according to the SEC release.

I guess the SEC needs an alternate acronym explanation now. Spoil Every Celebration? Strangle Everything Cool? Suck Excitement Completely? Stab Every Child? Whoa, sorry, don’t know where that last one came from. My mind wanders to dark places when I’m hungover in the office.

Understandable as the discouragement of field and court rushing may be from an administrative perspective, it still sucks. I’ve personally rushed both, and holy crap it’s a blast. Being all drunk and celebrating a huge, exciting win with random fans, sloppily trying over and over to pull a VJ Day style kiss with literally anything female, those females choosing instead to victory slap your win face. All so much fun.

It doesn’t seem like court rushing will be much of a concern in the SEC, since only about five schools in the conference are aware that basketball exists, but every school is going to rush the field at some point. All fines are really going to do is force stadium security to try to do its job harder, and consequently cause shitfaced and overly stimulated fans to push back even more. After Auburn’s Iron Bowl win, I received an email from a fan telling me about how he and his friend basically assaulted a security guard because that guard was sort of in their way and FUCK YOU, WAR EAGLE! I can only imagine what would have happened if that poor, absurdly ill equipped security guard had put in a full effort, but I’m guessing the end result would have involved those fans leaving with some sort of human trophy.

Lighten up, SEC. Aside from the people who are getting hurt, nobody’s getting hurt.

[via Twitter, USA Today]

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    1. Aslongasitscasual

      ^ fuck you’re shitty website. Spam does not equal longevity, hang yourself and fuck up so when you are in a coma your family loses all of it’s money in medical expenses and then die.

      11 years ago at 12:20 pm
  4. Brick_Tamland

    And rushing the field offenses only last 3 years. For example, if Mizzou doesn’t storm field next two years, the next time the storm will be considered their first offense again.

    11 years ago at 4:40 pm
  6. AGRcougs

    Auburn fans rushing the field was well deserved and necessary, but lets be honest. Storming the field has lost all meaning, fans will storm the field/court for any ranked win. Storming the field should be a once in a career event. When its a given fans will do it once or twice a year, it’s not nearly as memorable

    11 years ago at 4:51 pm
    1. Rob Fox

      I agree. I didn’t think Mizzou’s field rush was warranted, even though the win clinched the SEC East. We were the higher ranked team and favored. And while the game was close, it didn’t end in miraculous, last second fashion, nor was it against a rival.

      When I rushed the field in 2010 after Mizzou beat then #1 OU in a tightly contested game, and beat them for the first time in the Gary Pinkel era, on Homecoming, after hosting College Game Day, THAT was a day full of moments that deserved to culminate in a field rush. Just so much emotion.

      Auburn for sure deserved to rush the field. Mizzou did not. I know Ole Miss has a big rivalry with LSU, but the game didn’t seem all that important, and I’m assuming they’ve played more meaningful games against LSU in the past, so I’d probably say that the Ole Miss field rush wasn’t warranted either, but in fairness, I wasn’t there so I can’t say for sure.

      11 years ago at 4:57 pm
    2. OMFratRebel

      We absolutely would have stormed against A&M, but LSU we didn’t because we didn’t want to give them the satisfaction and because it’s not a huge surprise if we beat LSU because we always play them so well. The last time LSU beat us by more than 1 score in Baton Rouge I was 3.

      11 years ago at 6:43 pm
    4. SECfootball

      Considering Ole Miss has beaten LSU only 3 times in the last 12 years, I would say it is a pretty big surprise for y’all….

      11 years ago at 5:52 pm
  8. Otter_TFM

    A nice policeman politely informed me I would be tazed if I rushed the field when we beat ole miss.

    11 years ago at 5:16 pm
    1. DamnMoonCrickets

      You rushed the field after beating ole miss?? What shitty ass school do you go to?

      11 years ago at 3:07 am
  9. OMFratRebel

    WE DIDNT RUSH THE FUCKING FIELD AFTER LSU! What the actual fuck am I reading right now.

    11 years ago at 5:18 pm
    2. OMFratRebel

      None of those people on the field were ever in the stands I can guarantee that. The team and staff always run to the student section after wins. Even on away games, just ask Texas.

      11 years ago at 6:39 pm
  10. Fratches_Ohoulihan

    Bacon, what were you referring to when you mentioned a wide receiver mimicking sex with another player’s wife, and cocaine?

    11 years ago at 6:17 pm
  11. Strom Thurmond

    Welcome to the conference, been this way for years. Basically when you see a rule that seems over the top, just understand that the reason the rule exists is so LSU fans can’t do said action. No better example than when Texas A&M asked the conference to be allowed to leave their student section behind the visitors sideline. Could you imagine LSU students behind the visitors sideline?

    11 years ago at 7:21 pm