Fans storm the field after Ole Miss vs. LSU at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford on Saturday Sept. 30, 2023. Ole Miss won 55-49. (©Bruce Newman)

The Southeastern Conference announced Sunday 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 field following its football game against LSU on Sept. 30.

Ole Miss will incur a fine of $100,000 for a first offense under the league’s revised access to competition area policy that was adopted at the SEC spring meetings in 2023.

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.

For conference contests, fines are paid to the opposing institution. For non-conference contests, fines levied against schools for violation of the access to competition area policy are deposited into the SEC Post-Graduate Scholarship Fund.

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.