Ole Miss fined for violation of access to competition area policy
OXFORD, Miss. – (RELEASE) The Southeastern Conference announced today that the University of Mississippi will be fined for a violation of the league’s access to competition area policy due to fans entering the court following its men’s basketball game against the University of Tennessee on March 5 and cited for interruption of the game due to an object thrown onto the court.
“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,” said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. “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.”
Statement from @KeithCarterOM: pic.twitter.com/ihE0EahrMa
— Ole Miss Athletics (@OleMissSports) March 7, 2025
Ole Miss will incur a fine of $500,000 for a third offense under the league’s revised access to competition area policy that was adopted at the SEC Spring Meetings in 2023. Ole Miss was cited for its first violation when its fans entered the field following a football game against LSU on September 30, 2023 and for its second violation following a football game against Georgia on November 9, 2024.
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.”
Financial penalties are imposed for violations in all sports sponsored by the Conference. Institutional penalties range from $100,000 for a first offense, $250,000 for a second offense and $500,000 for a third and subsequent offenses.
The policy was originally adopted by a vote of Conference members in 2004 and financial penalties were increased by action taken by the membership in 2015 and again in 2023.
Kameron Wicker
Kam is a senior at Ole Miss, currently pursuing a degree in Journalism. Even though he's from Delhi, Louisiana, that didn't stop Kam from growing up a diehard Ole Miss fan. He's a sports guru who watches and follows all sports at all times. He lettered four years in football and baseball in high school and is an avid Saints, Pelicans, and Astros fan. In his free time, you can find him watching sports or at the rec participating in them.
