College Football

Tennessee fined after fans storm field, remove goalposts in upset over Alabama

Updated Nov. 19, 2022 1:36 p.m. ET

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What a time to be on Rocky Top.

As the rest of the college football world watched, Tennessee kicker Chase McGrath floated a ball through the uprights in the closing seconds to beat Alabama 52-49 and send a full-capacity Neyland Stadium into total pandemonium.

Gamblers who bet on Tennesee also rejoiced after the Volunteers' upset.

The ensuing celebration quickly caught fire on social media, especially once the fans who stormed the field took down the goalposts and triumphantly carried them through Knoxville before dumping them in a nearby river.

But the celebration (damage) did not come without a cost. The SEC announced Sunday that the conference would fine Tennessee $100,000 due to "a second offense under the league's access to competition area policy." 

The first offense came when Volunteer men's basketball fans stormed the team's basketball court after a victory over a Billy Donovan-coached Florida team in 2006.

The powers that be on Rocky Top likely will not mind. Tennessee president Randy Boyd was not worrying about any potential cost while in the moment on Saturday night:

Boyd celebrated with a victory cigar along with several other Tennessee football luminaries, including head coach Josh Heupel, legendary former quarterback Peyton Manning and current receiver Jalin Hyatt, who etched his name into Volunteers lore with an 11-catch, 307-yard, 6-touchdown night against Alabama.

However, other figureheads at Tennessee might be sweating the damages incurred Saturday more than Boyd was. The Tennessee athletic department has started a fundraising campaign ostensibly to replace the goalposts that now sit somewhere at the bottom of the Tennessee River:

As the tweet alluded to, nobody around Tennessee would change a thing about how Saturday night unfolded. That includes quarterback Hendon Hooker, who solidified his spot as a top Heisman Trophy contender Saturday night and shared a tender moment with his mother afterward.

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