BATON ROUGE, La. - The Southeastern Conference fined LSU $100,000 on Monday for "a violation of the league’s access to the competition area policy" because fans entered the field after the Tigers' 36-16 upset of No. 2 Georgia Saturday afternoon at Tiger Stadium, according to a release from the SEC office in Birmingham, Alabama.
The competition in the "competition area," however, was over.
This is LSU's second offense under the SEC's policy adopted in 2004 that prohibits fan access to the competition area "at all times." LSU was previously fined under this policy a total of $50,000 for its first offense since 2004, following its football team's 10-7 win over No. 3 Ole Miss on Oct. 25, 2014.
Fines levied against schools for these violations are deposited into the SEC Post-Graduate Scholarship Fund.
SEC schools unanimously approved the policy, which requires fines to be applied when spectators enter the playing field after a game. The policy states that “access to competition areas shall be limited to participating student-athletes, coaches, officials, support personnel and properly-credentialed individuals at all times."
The policy goes on to say, "For the safety of participants and spectators alike, at no time before, during or after a contest shall spectators be permitted to enter the competition area. It is the responsibility of each member institution to implement procedures to ensure compliance with this policy.”
Financial penalties, which were increased by action taken during the 2015 SEC spring meetings, are imposed for violations in all sports sponsored by the league.
Should LSU upset Alabama on Nov. 3 in Tiger Stadium and storm the field, the SEC's third offense policy calls for a fine of up to $250,000.
The No. 5 Tigers (6-1, 3-1 SEC) host No. 22 Mississippi State (4-2, 1-2 SEC) at 6 p.m. Saturday on ESPN.