Two weeks ago marked an ugly scene at Neyland Stadium, as fans of the Tennessee Volunteers -- incensed during a 31-26 loss to Ole Miss and former Vols head coach Lane Kiffin -- pelted the field and the Ole Miss sideline with trash, bottles, and other garbage. In response, the University of Tennessee has now banned certain participants in the unruliness from attending games the rest of the year.
According to a report by Becca Wright of the Knoxville News Sentinel, the University of Tennessee announced Friday that 25 individuals -- including 16 students -- have been barred from attending all athletic events through the spring sports season as a result of the trash-throwing incident in Tennessee's game against Ole Miss. In a letter sent to SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, UT Athletics Director Danny White outlined various steps that the program is taking to prevent future incidents, which include immediate changes for November 13's homecoming game against Georgia as well as future considerations.
Changes for the homecoming game include the elimination of student guest tickets, an increase in police and security staff to the student section, and the removal of bottle caps at certain vendors. Moving forward, the university is considering the addition of more video cameras, the addition of more gameday staff, and reconfiguring how students enter the stadium in order to minimize lines at the gate.
A total of 51 fans were ejected and 18 arrested after the trash-throwing incident on October 16, which included not only the throwing of trash onto the field and at Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin, but also an unruly crowd damaging a semi truck belonging to Ole Miss by pelting it with large landscaping rocks.
Tennessee itself faced consequences from the SEC for the incident, as the program has been fined $250,000 for the field being trashed on their watch. The fine will be deducted from Tennessee's share of SEC revenue distribution.
