SEC's Greg Sankey: 'We Have to Change the Culture' of Rushing Field to Avoid Injuries
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey is committed to finding a solution to address safety concerns regarding students rushing the field or court while celebrating.
Sankey said Tuesday at the College Football Playoff's annual spring meetings that the conference continues to discuss "a continuum" of ideas that would prevent field-storming. However, he feels like implementing a specific penalty isn't enough to erase the root of the problem.
"There's a history of being severely injured if you over-officiate it," he said. "I would argue that what has to happen is we have to change the culture. … There's a celebratory moment, but there's a safety moment. It's real. We've avoided really serious injuries, but there have been injuries and there have been stories [about] other really, really serious injuries."
Sankey's comments come shortly after Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated reported on Monday that the SEC is considering a proposal in which the penalty for storming the field would be stripping a school of its next home game against the same opponent it just played. There was another proposal that calls for the school to forfeit the game if its fans storm the field, but that one "is unlikely to gain much traction," per Forde.
The SEC currently fines schools for fans storming the field. Tennessee $100,000 was fined after the football team's 52-49 upset win over Alabama this past October, which saw the fans partake in a massive on-field celebration that included uprooting the goalposts.
Sankey added that policy changes could be made at the SEC's spring meetings in Destin, Florida, at the end of May. However, it's clear that it will take a shift in the collective mindset of fans in order to completely eradicate rushing the field.
