The Ole Miss Athletics Department is no longer all smiles following the men’s basketball team’s historic win over No. 4 Tennessee on Wednesday night.
On Friday, the Southeastern Conference announced that Ole Miss will be fined $500,000 for a violation of the league’s access to competition area policy due to fans entering the court following the midweek contest against the Volunteers. The university was also cited for the game being interrupted due to an object thrown onto the court — which prompted Rebel head basketball coach Chris Beard to grab the microphone and urge his fanbase not to act out in that manner.
According to conference officials, the half-million-dollar fine was levied due to the court storming being Ole Miss’ third offense since the SEC updated its access to competition policy in the spring of 2023.
The first offense happened on Sept. 30 when the Rebels’ football team defeated LSU and eventual Heisman-winning quarterback Jayden Daniels in a 55-49 thriller, spurring a $100,000 fine. The other offense occurred when the football team defeated Georgia 28-10 this past November, prompting a $250,000 fine.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey commended Ole Miss Athletics leadership for having adequate policies in place to protect student-athletes and officials but noted that the actions of a few could impose penalties on mostly innocent parties. Sankey confirmed that the conference is assessing its field and courtstorming regulations to determine if future reform is needed.
Keith Carter and the Ole Miss leadership have been diligent in updating its postgame basketball court access policy and it was encouraging to see the vast majority of fans obey the new policy by remaining in the stands immediately following Wednesday’s game with Tennessee.
It is disappointing that a small number of fans have created this problem, but the postgame court incursion by fans who disregarded the policy violates the expectations of the access to competition area policy
As the Conference continues to review field rushing and court storming policy, we need to consider all that is now being done to adjust fan behavior including reducing or removing financial penalties when the administrative leadership is ignored by a small group of people.
Additionally, the game was disrupted when debris was thrown onto the court, which is a violation of SEC sportsmanship policies and individuals identified as having thrown debris are to be banned from attending future athletic events.”
The SEC’s 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.”
That was obviously violated as soon as the buzzer sounded after the 78-76 Rebel victory in the team’s home finale of the 2024-25 season. While most who ended up on the hardwood waited until the appropriate time, a handful of eager fans allowed their impulses to get the best of them.
🔴🔴🔴 A SEA OF RED 🔴🔴🔴 pic.twitter.com/2JMHzrHNIj
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) March 6, 2025
Ole Miss Athletics Director Keith Carter issued the following statement in response to the university being penalized:
Wednesday was a momentous night for the Ole Miss men’s basketball team. Our program has experienced record attendance growth this season, and that is due to the love and support of Rebel Nation. Unfortunately, Wednesday’s special moment was marred by the unacceptable behavior of a select few in our fanbase that chose to impatiently rush the court before the Tennessee team and game officials had exited and before the crowd was welcomed to come down.
These selfish actions have consequences, as they will cost our coaches and student-athletes valuable resources. We are being levied a $500,000 fine to bring our department’s total to $850,000 for the season. Additionally, SEC regulations dictate that this money be distributed to the opposing institution. With potential future fines continuing at a similar level, it is imperative that we take immediate action to end this behavior.
Our staff is currently reviewing postgame footage from Wednesday, and any individuals who are identified will face the potential loss of game privileges. Entering the playing surface without permission is strictly prohibited and will not be tolerated. Penalties will be increased moving forward, including holding perpetrators on the court or field and revoking their game privileges on site. We are also exploring other avenues to hold those that break the rules accountable. Simply put, this must stop.
We appreciate the passionate support of the Ole Miss family and thank those who acted appropriately Wednesday night. It’s exciting to see our teams celebrate with our fans, and as administration, we encourage it. However, it should only occur when explicitly permitted. We ask that our fans help us avoid future fines by adhering to rules and policing each other. We remain focused on creating a bucket-list gameday experience, but losing resources as a result of fines can no longer be a part of that.”
In the NIL era and with revenue sharing on the horizon, schools like Ole Miss are not looking to incur self-inflicted wounds.
The men’s basketball team will end the regular season at Florida on Saturday with the game beginning at 5 p.m. CT. The SEC Tournament and NCAA Tournament will follow. Ole Miss is listed as a March Madness lock and currently looking to boost its projected seeding in the upcoming Big Dance.