The Fine Line: SEC to Fine Schools up to $250K for Rushing the Court

By Daniel Tran | May 29, 2015

With coaches and players safety on the line, the SEC has significantly increased the fines for teams storming the court. Is it the right move?

Though they maybe stuck behind a line of brick walls, metal gates, and uniformed security guards, there is not much stopping up to 90,000 fans from overwhelming those obstacles and getting onto the field. Though it may be festive at its core, turns out the signature celebration of college basketball fans across the nation will come at a heavy price in the SEC.

Starting in the fall of 2015, the SEC will begin fining universities up to $250,000 for both storming the field after a football game and storming the court after a basketball game. First time offenders will receive a hefty $50,000 fine, second time offenders will be levied a $100,000 charge by the SEC, and every subsequent violation after that will result in a $250,000 fine.

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Prior to this legislation being passed, the SEC was charging a meager price for storming the court/field, fining schools an increasingly incremental $5,000 for the first offense, $25,000 for the second offense, and $50,000 for each violation after that. Judging from the amount of money some of these SEC schools make, that’s just the price of having fun after a big win against a conference rival.

The significant increase in the amount of the fines seems like a preventative measure to deter universities from allowing their students to freely rush the field. Students have generally been in a celebratory mood and therefore have meant no harm to opposing coaches and players. However, a bad situation last season has been eye opening to the potential dangers that may happen during the rush, especially on the tight confines of a basketball court.

Kansas State had just defeated long-time rival Kansas on their home court, and the Wildcats’ fans were in a frenzy, rushing the court just like any team would do after a huge win. In the chaos, Kansas head coach Bill Self was pinned against the scorer’s table, but appeared to be okay.

A fan on the court, however, purposefully shoved Kansas forward Jamari Traylor, giving a preview of what could really go wrong during a court storming. Traylor showed a lot of restraint and did not retaliate with violence, but another player may have escalated that and crisis would have occurred.

This happened in the Big 12, but it could easily happen in any other conference in the nation. One mean-spirited fan and one overly sensitive player could end in disaster in any court-storming situation.

The larger fine can certainly force universities to hire extra security and install extra measures to prevent students from rushing the field, but how effective will that really be when thousands of students converge on a handful of security guards? If those kids want to get on the field, they will get there by sheer overwhelming volume.

Fines haven’t stopped fans from storming the field since the initial fine system was implemented in 2004, but it will be interesting to see how the universities in the SEC will respond to these increased fine amounts.

Next: Fred Hoiberg: Time to Worry for Iowa State

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