Report: SEC mulling football field-storming consequences

They poured over the walls. They covered every inch of the turf on Shields-Watkins Field.

It took some effort, but soon after Tennessee toppled Alabama in a 52-49 thriller, the goal posts followed suit, crashing into a sea of orange and paraded through campus thoroughfares before resting at the bottom of the Tennessee River.

The image of Vols' fans unleashing 15 years of frustration in a postgame field-storming for the ages was one of the most recognizable moments of the 2022 college football season, but one report indicates the lengths the SEC may go to to prevent future celebrations.

According to Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde on Monday, an event safety group created by SEC commissioner Greg Sankey in November 2022 and headed up by Alabama, Georgia and Kentucky athletic directors Greg Byrne, Josh Brooks and Mitch Barnhart has been considering actions that would deter fans from entering the playing surface following games.

According to Forde, those considerations could lead to rule-changes that will be presented at the annual SEC spring meetings in Destin, Florida later next month.

Among the considerations is penalizing conference institutions for field-storming with the loss of a future home game, though Forde says that proposal is "unlikely to gain much traction."

Currently, punishment includes a $50,000 fine for the first offense and $100,000 for a second. Future field-rushes levies a $250,000 penalty.

Tennessee was one of several conference schools that had fans empty onto the field following a marquee victory last season. LSU fans stormed the field after beating then-No. 7 Ole Miss at Tiger Stadium, then did it again when the Tigers walked off Alabama with a game-winning two-point conversion in overtime.

*****

– TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM.

– ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION.

– FOLLOW VOLREPORT ON TWITTER: @TennesseeRivals, @TMansfieldMedia, @ByNoahTaylor, @RealTBannerman, @RyanTSylvia, @Dale_Dowden, @ShayneP_Media.