SEC pounds LSU with $250,000 fine after fans storm field

LSU football fans stormed the field after beating Ole Miss, and now the SEC wants paid.

LSU will have to pay up after the SEC fined the school $250,000 after its football fans stormed the field after beating Ole Miss. / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

LSU was fined $250,000 by the SEC after its football fans formed the field at Tiger Stadium following the team’s upset victory over Ole Miss on Saturday night, the conference said.

The fine comes a week after the SEC fined both Vanderbilt and Arkansas for when their football fans ran onto the field after wins against Alabama and Tennessee, respectively.

LSU football fans last stormed their field in October of 2022, which also followed a Tigers victory over Ole Miss, and before that the last field storming was in 2018 after LSU beat No. 2 Georgia.

A school’s first offense is $100,000 and from there, a second offense is $250,000 and a third swells to $500,000 for the offending school.

Those amounts were approved by the SEC in a landmark decision in 2023, when the conference increased its fines to discourage the practice, and at the time said that any previous field or court occupations would not count against the total going forward.

While it may seem like a bummer for fans, the SEC’s reason for implementing the policy is related to safety reasons.

The conference fears that once fans run onto the football field or basketball court that any interactions between them and athletes could result in confrontations and unwanted injuries.

Fans can also be injured in the process of running down from various points in the stadium or arena down towards the playing surface.

You could forgive LSU fans for being excited. Trailing by a touchdown against the then-No. 9 Rebels, the Tigers mounted a comeback led by quarterback Garrett Nussmeier.

He connected with wide receiver Aaron Anderson for a 23-yard touchdown on a must-get fourth-down play to tie the game.

And then, after Ole Miss was held to a field goal in overtime, Nussmeier came back and hit Kyren Lacy on the first play of LSU’s overtime possession for the walk-off touchdown.

The win moves LSU to a 5-1 mark on the season with a 2-0 record in SEC play, a vital step in the right direction in the league’s title picture and the College Football Playoff chase.

LSU is 1 of 3 teams in the SEC to remain undefeated in conference play, the other two being Texas and Texas A&M.

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