SEC Fines South Carolina $500,000 for Field Storming After Tennessee Win

The SEC has fined South Carolina $500,000 after its fans rushed the field following the Gamecocks' last-second win over No. 11 Tennessee on Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium. The league said the celebration violated its access to the competition area policy, which carries a $500,000 fine for any violation.

Under that policy, access to the playing area is limited at all times to participating student-athletes, coaches, officials, support personnel and properly credentialed or authorized individuals, with spectators barred from entering before, during or after a contest for the safety of everyone involved. For a conference game, the fine is paid to the opposing institution, while non-conference violations go to the SEC's post-graduate scholarship fund.

The storming followed a dramatic finish in a back-and-forth game. South Carolina won when Malik Orsan made a 48-yard field goal in the closing seconds, prompting fans to pour onto the field en masse to celebrate with the team.

This is the third time this season the SEC has issued a field-storming fine, after similar penalties followed Kentucky's overtime win over LSU and Tennessee's upset of Alabama. The scale of Saturday's celebration was also captured off the field, as the roar from the crowd of 79,193 after the kick was loud enough to register on a nearby seismic station, with a timestamp matching the end of the game at 7:13 p.m. ET.