Sankey Confirms SEC Is Considering New Field-Storming Penalties, Including Potentially Forfeiting Games

SEC officials have explored a wide range of options in their pursuit of strengthening the league’s penalty structure on fans storming the field, including forfeiting a game or giving up a future home game, commissioner Greg Sankey said Tuesday.

“People have said you should flip [the home site]. People have said you should forfeit the game. People have said you shouldn’t get to a bowl game,” Sankey said. 

Speaking after Day 1 of a three-day College Football Playoff spring meeting in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas, Sankey confirmed a report from Sports Illustrated earlier this week about the league considering a penalty that would require teams to forfeit a future home game for storming the field. However, the commissioner cautioned that several options have been discussed and that nothing has been finalized.

In light of the recent number of field stormings—and the danger of them—the league created a three-man working group consisting of athletic directors from Georgia (Josh Brooks), Alabama (Greg Byrne) and Kentucky (Mitch Barnhart), who are charged with formulating new field-storming proposals. Athletic directors and school presidents could soon consider the proposals. The league holds its annual spring meetings in Destin, Fla. at the end of May.

The conference could vote on new penalties “at any point between now and the start of the season,” he said.

“I don’t think just passing a rule can stop it. People have to stop it. Has the fine system changed behavior? Yes,” Sankey said. “Can you stop it? Sure. You can send teams into stands to celebrate with fans. We see that in basketball pretty frequently. You can educate your fans: Stay off the floor, we’re going to come to you and let's celebrate that way.

“There are positive ways to engage in postgame celebration that don’t involve rushing the field and tearing down goalposts.”

Sankey listed several options that have been discussed, but stopped short of saying that anything has developed yet into a proposal to be presented to presidents and ADs. They include:

• Doubling or tripling or quadrupling fines
• Forfeiting the next home game against that team, which SI reported Monday
• Banning a team from a bowl
• Forfeiting the game in which the field was stormed
• Having higher standards for visiting team/officials protection
• Having higher standards for a team’s exit

“You have to elevate the responsibility for the safety of the visiting team,” Sankey said. “We talk about the dangers for fans. The dangers of people jumping over walls. Dangers for both teams. Dangers for the officials. That’s the kind of conversation the adults in the room have had. The adults will continue to have the conversation.”