The Southeastern Conference announced Monday the University of Tennessee has been fined The Southeastern Conference announced Monday the University of Tennessee for not causing an 18-minute delay by throwing water bottles, mustard, and anything that could be thrown on the field.
The fan base had become unhinged after the Vols picked up what appeared to be a crucial fourth and long. However, Jacob Warren was ruled short of the marker by an official. Lane Kiffin was even seen holding golf ball that was thrown at him.
“The disruption of Saturday night’s game is unacceptable and cannot be repeated on any SEC campus,” said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. “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. We will also reengage our membership in further review of the alcohol availability policy to consider additional measures for the sale and management of alcohol while providing the appropriate environment for collegiate competition.”
Ole Miss had to clear their sidelines in fear of getting hurt. The Marching Band and UT cheerleading squad also had to leave the field to avoid being struck by any of the debris.
According to a release from the SEC, under the conference’s sportsmanship, game management and alcohol availability policies, UT will:
- Be assessed a financial penalty of $250,000, which will be deducted from the university’s share of SEC revenue distribution.
- Be required to use all available resources, including security, stadium and television video, to identify individuals who threw objects onto the playing field or at the opposing team. All individuals identified as having been involved in disrupting the game shall be prohibited from attending Tennessee Athletics events for the remainder of the 2021-22 academic and athletic year.
- Review and update its Athletics Department game management procedures and alcohol availability policies to prevent a recurrence of Saturday night’s disruption, which shall include an evaluation of agreed-upon SEC Sportsmanship, Game Management and Alcohol policies to verify full compliance with existing standards.
- Following completion of this review and prior to the University of Tennessee’s next home football game, the university shall provide a report to the Conference 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.
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Shortly after the SEC’s announcement, Tennessee Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Danny White issued the following statement:
“I was in communication with Commissioner Sankey throughout the weekend, and we discussed a variety of things that took place Saturday night. As I stated after the game, the actions that led to the temporary stoppage of play were unacceptable. The conduct of a small percentage of fans has led to unfortunate consequences on multiple fronts. While I don’t believe that conduct is representative of the Tennessee fanbase as a whole, I understand this imperative action by the league. Safety is paramount.
Some elements of what the league office has instructed were already in motion, as a review of in-venue video began this weekend. Internally—and in collaboration with our campus partners—we’ll continue to evaluate accountability measures and develop an action and education plan for future games.”
By the time the game was over, here were 18 arrests and 47 ejections as a result of the fans’ actions at Neyland Stadium, according to preliminary report the UT Police Department.
A UT spokesperson said more security cameras may be added to Neyland Stadium and focused on the student section, from which most of the trash was thrown.
