South Carolina (4-3, 2-3 SEC) defeated No. 11 Tennessee (6-2, 3-2 SEC), 27-24, in Week 8 at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina.
Following the Gamecocks' win, fans stormed the field.
The SEC announced South Carolina was fined for violation of access to competition area policy. South Carolina will incur a fine of $500,000.
The SEC released the following statement:
"The Southeastern Conference announced today that the University of South Carolina will incur a fine of $500,000 for a violation of the league’s access to competition area policy following its football game against the University of Tennessee on October 24.
The fine will be paid to Tennessee in accordance with Conference policy, which provides for a $500,000 penalty for violations
involving access to competition areas in all SEC-sponsored sports.
The policy states that “institutions shall limit access to competition areas to participating student-athletes, coaches, officials, support personnel and properly credentialed or authorized individuals at all times. For the safety of participants and spectators alike, at no time before, during or after a contest may spectators enter the competition area.”
The policy also permits member institutions to establish procedures allowing fans to celebrate on the playing surface after all visiting team personnel and game officials have safely exited the field or court. To qualify for this exception, institutions must submit their plans to the Conference office in advance and communicate the procedures to fans. Institutions may avoid the prescribed penalty when all applicable requirements are satisfied.
The SEC Commissioner may reduce the fine to $100,000 if the home institution can prove that a full attempt to prevent the field rush/court storm was instituted, few individuals breached the competition area and minimal interaction with the visiting team occurred.
The SEC’s access to competition area policy was originally adopted by Conference members in 2004 and has been subsequently amended, most recently in 2025."
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This article originally appeared on Vols Wire: South Carolina fined for violation of access to competition area policy
