SEC Football: Conference seems set to make horrific rule change
By Kevin Miller
![SEC commissioner Greg Sankey signed a contract extension to keep him as the head of the league through 2028. Syndication/Tuscaloosa News. Staff Photo/Gary Cosby Jr.]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2Fa207913d2846b63a19184aadf50a16a1d4dce7607a07f9ced7b33e0d161c916d.jpg "SEC commissioner Greg Sankey signed a contract extension to keep him as the head of the league through 2028. Syndication/Tuscaloosa News. Staff Photo/Gary Cosby Jr.]")
SEC football is the best football. Every season, the conference sends the most players to the NFL, usually a significant amount more than any other league. Since 2006, the SEC has won 13 of the 17 possible national championships with five different SEC football teams winning the title. The product on the field is the best, and there is really no rational debate over that.
Some have even compared the SEC to the NFL, but perhaps they just got their acronyms mixed up and, instead of “National Football League,” they meant “No Fun League.” While most conferences laugh off field storming and understand that it is part of the fan experience (heck, some schools like Clemson do it every game, no matter what), the SEC has handed down six-figure fines against schools whose fans storm the field after a game.
That harsh penalty might be getting even harsher in the near future.
According to a report from Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde, a council on safety has been put together by Commissioner Greg Sankey and has been meeting since November. Field storming events happened all over the conference that month with Tennessee storming the field after their upset over Alabama, South Carolina returning the favor after smacking the Vols around in Columbia, and LSU storming the fielding after toppling the ‘Tide.
The council (a group that includes Georgia AD Josh Brooks, Alabama AD Greg Byrne, and Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart, three schools that don’t typically engage in field storming) has been mulling over ideas for deterring on-field fan celebrations. Some of the penalties that have been discussed? Outrageously harsh ones such as forfeiting a game or having to give up a home game the following season.
Column: With six-figure fines being laughed off, the SEC is preparing to up the ante on penalties for storming the field or court. Perhaps upping it so far as taking away a home game from offending schools. https://t.co/xu000CybhC
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) April 24, 2023
In objective reality, fans storming the field (or court) can be dangerous. However, punishing a football team and athletic department so severely for the actions of fans is ludicrous. This becomes especially true when it would be outrageously easy to fake a field or court storming event to punish your opponent. Oh, your team is about to lose a basketball game in an upset on the road? Just gather up some fellow disgruntled fans and storm the court so your rival gets in trouble. These rule changes could make this ridiculous hypothetical a potential reality.
It is important to note that nothing has been decided by this safety council as of yet. However, if discussions are as serious as Forde’s report indicates, SEC football fans and SEC basketball fans can expect to see serious punishments handed out for future fan excitement. Hopefully, the league office’s next move won’t be to start fining schools for singing fight songs too loudly.