How much Tennessee will be fined for fans storming field after Vols beat Alabama

The University of Tennessee will pay a heavy fine after fans stormed the field to celebrate the Vols‘ stunning win over No. 7 Alabama on Oct. 17.

No. 14 Tennessee (6-1, 3-1 SEC) pulled off a 26-10 win over Alabama (5-2, 3-2) amid a sellout crowd of 101,915 in a raucous Neyland Stadium.

Tennessee will be fined $500,000 under the SEC rule that was hardened in 2025.

The SEC first instituted a field-storming policy in 2004 with escalating fines that started at $100,000 for the first offense, $250,000 for the second offense and $500,000 for each additional offense. But SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey announced in 2025 that all offenses would draw the same fine of $500,000.

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“The motivation was ‘field rushing is field rushing, the first time or the 18th time,'” Sankey said in 2025. “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.”

Tennessee fans stormed the field after beating Alabama in 2022. And they did it again after beating Alabama in 2024.

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

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