Hope It Was Worth It: SEC Fines LSU $250k For Field-Storming Violation Against Ole Miss

The LSU Tigers may have defeated the Ole Miss Rebels in Death Valley on Saturday night, but the Rebels are walking away richer for it. How is that possible?

After watching their 13th-ranked team defeat the 9th-seeded visitors, LSU fans stormed Tiger Stadium in celebration. Thankfully, no football players shoved unsuspecting fans in the process.

Frankly, I’m not really groovin’ on the field-stroming mentality here. Sure, it's a big win against a conference opponent that’s ranked in the Top 10. But at the same time, LSU was ranked 13th, just four spots behind the Rebels. Why is this worth the extra level of celebration? Spoiler: it’s not.

While Tigers fans were busy storming the field in a completely unnecessary circumstance, the SEC was busy writing a memo. The conference fined LSU $250,000 for its fan’s unruly behavior, in accordance with its 2023 competition area policy. The high price is due to the fact that this is their second offense of the year, with the first being when fans rushed the court after a men’s basketball win in February.

"Institutions shall limit access to competition areas to participating student-athletes, coaches, officials, support personnel and properly credentialed or authorized individuals at all times," the policy reads. "For the safety of participants and spectators alike, at no time before, during or after a contest may spectators enter the competition area."

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA - OCTOBER 12: Fans rush the field following a 29-23 win by the LSU Tigers over the Ole Miss Rebels at Tiger Stadium on October 12, 2024 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Derick E. Hingle/Getty Images)

Somewhere, OutKick's resident field-storming hater David Hookstead is grinning from ear to ear. 

The most ironic part about this whole situation is that LSU is going to write this check for 250-large to Ole Miss, given that they put their team at risk. I’m sure that the Rebels will gladly take that quarter million consolation prize and put it to good use.

At the same time, I think that’s a check LSU will be okay with, especially given that they are now 8th in the country (Ole Miss is now 18th). But the Tigers might want to tell fans that their celebrations are getting expensive. And the next time this happens, it's a $500,000 penalty.

Celebrate responsibly, Tigers students!