South Carolina Facing Massive Fine for What Happened After Tennessee Upset

The ending to Saturday night’s matchup between the No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers and South Carolina Gamecocks was wild, to say the least.

South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers may have scored the toughest 4-yard touchdown run in college football this season, fighting off multiple Vols defenders en route to the end zone.

Three plays later, Tennessee fumbled and set up a 48-yard Malik Orsan game-winning field goal. It marked back-to-back wins over AP Top 25 teams for the Gamecocks, who also knocked off then-No. 16-ranked Florida two weeks ago.

South Carolina fans promptly celebrated Saturday’s win by storming the field. It’s tough to fault SC fans basking in the moment of upsetting a ranked SEC rival, however, that decision will hit the school hard in the checkbook.

SEC rules state any team whose fans storm the field or court after a game are subject to an automatic $500,000 fine under the league’s new fine structure.

The conference’s old rule fined teams $100,000 for a first offense field or court storming that escalated to $250,000 for a second offense, and $500,000 for a third offense.

“The motivation was ‘field rushing is field rushing, the first time or the 18th time,’” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said at the time. “The random nature of, if you’re the one getting rushed, it doesn’t feel good. It might be the first time (it happened) there, but it might be your sixth time in a row, literally.”

To add insult to injury, the money South Carolina will have to pay for the fine will go directly to Tennessee.

The SEC does reserve the right to rescind any field- or court-storming fines if the opposing team and all officials are allowed to get safely back to the locker room before the fans descend onto the field or court.