Tennessee fined $250,000 from SEC revenue distribution after fans trash field during Ole Miss game
Tennessee has been fined $250,000, which will be deducted from the university's share of SEC revenue distribution, for the incident at the end of the Ole Miss game, when fans tossed trash on the field to protest the officials' call.
The SEC announced the penalty on Monday, two days after the ugly scene near the end of the Vols' 31-26 loss, in accordance with the league's regulations related to availability of alcoholic beverages at athletics events.
It allows the conference to fine a member school and suspend alcohol sales privileges. However, the SEC is not suspending alcohol sales at Tennessee games but reserves the right to do so if other requirements are not met, a conference release said.
Tennessee must meet the following requirements:
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-Use resources, including security, stadium and TV video, to identify individuals who threw objects on field or at the Ole Miss team and prohibit them from attending Vols sporting evens for the remainder of the 2021-22 academic year.
-Review and update its athletics department game management procedures and alcohol availability policies to prevent a recurrence of Saturday night's disruption.
-Upon completion of the review and before its next home game, the school shall provide a report to the SEC office to summarize its efforts to identify and penalize offenders and its plan to enact policies to prevent future similar incidents while ensuring compliance with conference standards.
The $250,000 penalty is equal to the fine for a third offense of fans running onto the field after a game.
Tennessee was already working on the SEC's other requirements. On Sunday, Chancellor Donde Plowman said campus police were reviewing video to identify offenders, and the university was planning to add security cameras to Neyland Stadium.
There were 18 arrests and 47 ejections at the game, a university Police Department spokesperson told Knox News as a preliminary count.
“The disruption of Saturday night’s game is unacceptable and cannot be repeated on any SEC campus,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said. “Today’s actions are consistent with the oversight assigned by the membership to the SEC office, including the financial penalty and review of alcohol availability. We will use this opportunity to reemphasize to each SEC member the importance of providing a safe environment even with the intensity of competition that occurs every week."
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee fined $250,000 for incident in Ole Miss game
