Auburn Fined $100K for Allowing Fans to Storm the Court After Win vs. Kentucky

The Auburn Tigers have been fined $100,000 by the SEC due to fans storming the court after Auburn's 75-70 win over the Kentucky Wildcats this past Saturday, per Chip Patterson of CBS Sports.   

The Tigers are a repeat offender in fans storming the area of play after a huge win, which caused the fine. Fans stormed Jordan-Hare Stadium in 2013 after the "Kick Six" in the Iron Bowl against the Alabama Crimson Tide.    

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey released a statement Monday on the incident, per Patterson:  

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The Conference has unanimously approved a policy requiring fines be applied when spectators enter the playing court after a game. While understanding the enthusiasm following an exciting victory, fans need to remain in the stands and avoid the safety concerns associated with rushing on to the playing floor. We want to have exciting experiences around SEC games, but also want to maintain a safe environment for student-athletes, coaches, spectators and officials.

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Should another court-storming incident take place, the fine will increase to $250,000, according to Patterson.

Auburn hasn't had much to cheer for early on in SEC play. Head coach Bruce Pearl's squad is 8-8 on the year, and before pulling off the upset against Kentucky, the Tigers dropped three straight conference games. Two of those—against the Missouri Tigers and Vanderbilt Commodores—came on the road.

The Tigers' win was the biggest in Pearl's two years to date while coaching at Auburn, and he wanted to win this for the university and the students, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com):

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I'm happy for our students because I have not been able to provide that return on investment yet. When they see moments like that, they say, 'OK, our basketball program is competing in spite of injuries and challenges.' It took special effort, but I wanted to be able to see that special celebration.

I didn't want to be in the middle of it because I got killed but I wanted to watch it and I wanted to see those guys enjoy themselves.

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Court-storming has been an issue raised in the past, mainly for player safety. Even the SEC has enforced fines for programs who allow court-storming, a rule passed by former Commissioner Mike Slive back in March, per ESPN.com's David Ching:

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This is designed to be a deterrent. This is designed to try to change the culture about rushing the field, understanding that it's viewed by some as a tradition. But it's a tradition that runs into the question of health and safety of not only the fans themselves but the coaches and players.

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Storming the court is a college basketball tradition that is fun for students but does have its hazards. On Dec. 10, a reporter broke his leg after getting caught in the excitement after the Iowa State Cyclones' upset of the rival Iowa Hawkeyes. 

With safety and increasing fines in mind, Auburn would be smart to try to avoid another court-storming in the future.