Imagine, if you will, that the thousands of fans who rushed the field in Tiger Stadium in November after LSU’s epic 32-31 overtime victory over Alabama doomed the Tigers to playing the Crimson Tide the next three seasons in Tuscaloosa.
Not because of some arcane quirk of the schedule or because the crackpot conspiracy theories are true that the Southeastern Conference always puts a thumb on the scale for Bama’s benefit. But because of a ramped-up league rule to keep fans from entering the field of play or the basketball court after a big victory.
Let’s make something clear up front: No such penalty exists or is even up for a vote among SEC leadership. It is simply one of the suggestions discussed by a working group tasked by SEC commissioner Greg Sankey last fall to try to keep fans off the field.
The SEC has had a fine structure in place for years to try to discourage fans from storming fields and courts, or more to the point incentivizing its member schools to keep them out. The fines are $50,000 for the first offense, $100,000 for the second and $250,000 for each subsequent offense.
LSU has been at the top of the chart for a while now. The school was twice hit with $250,000 fines last football season, as fans also entered the field after the Tigers took down unbeaten Ole Miss 45-20 in October.
A half-million in fines isn’t nothing. But when LSU spent nearly $193 million in the 2021-22 fiscal year, $500,000 is not going to have it cutting back on shoes and shoulder pads. And it certainly isn’t a deterrent to make anyone think twice about going over the fence when LSU or Tennessee or Arkansas scores another big win.
Losing a home game, thus putting your school at a competitive disadvantage the season they have to play an extra road game, might.
The man at LSU having to scratch those fine checks to the SEC, athletic director Scott Woodward, sees both sides of the issue. He has been, his entire life, an LSU fan, and he knows the passion of LSU’s fan base underpins his department’s financial success.
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