Big wins could mean big fines in SEC this fall

By: Christopher Hall
christopherhallsc.2010@gmail.com

I’ve been watching college football nearly my entire life and although I’m just on the cuff of turning 23 next week, I’ve seen my share of big upsets and victories…victories which led to the home team rushing the field to celebrate.

I’ve always seen rushing the field one of the many great traditions of college football. Unfortunately, the scene of thousands of fans, players and coaches on the field celebrating after a big win could become a less frequent scene in the SEC.

Many schools across the country already have collapsible goal post in both end zones. This came into play after a string of injuries over the last decade or so occurred across the nation when fans would storm the field and tear down the goal post after pulling a big upset or win.

Now, rushing the field at all could slowly be coming to a halt, at least in the SEC (Southeastern Conference). The Power-5 conference has been fining its schools for rushing the field or storming the court dating back to 2004.

But according to a new report released by ESPN’s Edward Aschoff Wednesday, the fine is going up, (and I mean way up) beginning this fall. The report states that the SEC plans to “substantially” increase the fines for teams that violate its on-field policy.

Previously, first time offender schools were forced to pay a $5,000 fine which was increased to $25,000 and $50,000 for second and third subsequent offenses. Discussions are still in the works, but all signs are currently pointing to the initial fine becoming a $50,000 offense under the new system. 

Of the 14 league schools, only five (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi State and Texas A&M) haven’t been fined since the initial rule took effect in 2004. The report from ESPN stated last season, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Missouri and LSU were fined for rushing the field following victories.

“It’s an attempt to change behavior,” SEC Commissioner Mike Slive said. “I think we have changed it considerably, but there are times when it happens and I think our folks thought that the current fine structure is not sufficiently large enough to be a quality deterrent,”

I’m not so sure the new system will work. Before moving to Dayton to take my current position at The Herald-News news back in February, I worked part-time for Event Partners, Incorporated; the event staffing/security staffing company for Clemson football and all other athletic and on-campus concert events.I can tell you first hand, there are only so many people you can have on their post and so much we can do when we are so highly outnumbered by fans.

We can tell people all day long, “hey, you can’t jump across that barrier and onto the field but when you have literally thousands of fans coming at you at once, what are you supposed to do?

I tell you what you do. You either move out of the way or get ran over by a stampede of intoxicated and excited fans ready to celebrate a big win on the field.

At Clemson it has even become a tradition to rush the field after EVERY game. That’s right. Win or lose, Tigers fans meet at the paw to face the band in the corner of the East endzone by the Hill to sing the alma mater together following each home game.

There has been a system put into place where you are technically only allowed to enter the field from the bottom of the hill or the opposite end of the field’s endzone. However, we all know everyone doesn’t follow the rules.

Furthermore, after a big win—especially a night game when fans have been “tasting” all day long—they end up coming from each and any direction, and there’s little you can do to stop them.

That being said, I fully understand the reasoning behind the system change; safety. It’s not ideal to have that many people running together in the same direction jumping over each other, etc after a game. People can trip, get knocked over and stampeded in a heartbeat.

Coming from someone who has rushed the court at Littlejohn and stormed the field in Death Valley multiple times after Clemson games, it’s like the running of the bulls. You have to commit to it and just hope and pray you don’t trip and fall.

I think LSU Athletic Director Joe Alleva hit the nail on the head, “You can’t have armed guards and horses out there. I hope all the fans realize it is about safety and will comply. There’s only so much you can do, you can’t put up barbed wire or build a wall around the field,” he said.

While I do think the new system will help cut down on the frequency of storming the field or rushing the court in the SEC, I don’t think it will completely come to an end. It will probably take a year or two before we really see a difference or notice how the rule effects post-game celebrations.

Unlike my boys in Tigertown, I’m willing to bet most schools only have a legitimate reason to storm the field or court on average about once per season. Easy for me to say since it doesn’t come out of my pocket, but I think after knocking off a top 10 team or your rival at home, paying a $50,000 fine once a year might not be all that bad.

No shortage of storylines in this year’s conference finals

By: Christopher Hall

christopherhallsc.2010@gmail.com

The stage is set for the Conference Finals in this year’s NBA playoffs with Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers set to take on the Atlanta Hawks for the Eastern Conference Title. Over in the west, it’s the Golden State Warriors led by league MVP Stephen Curry facing off against the Houston Rockets. 

With the field now set, Golden State has emerged as the favorite to bring home the trophy according to the experts over in Las Vegas.  In order to do that, they’ll have to find a way to get past Houston. A team that just stunned the L.A Clippers coming back down three games to one, to take the series in Game seven behind a 31-point performance from James Harden.

The Rockets became part of an elite group of nine teams that have overcome a 3-1 advantage in a best-of-seven series and won the series in game seven. Harden said after the game it was simply the team’s determination and refusal to give up that made the difference.

 “It was our will to win, we didn’t give up,” Harden said. “We’ve faced adversity all year so we just kept fighting.” 

L.A. was sitting pretty after three double digit blowout wins over the Rockets. They had even built a 19-point lead on their home court with a chance to close things out and advance to the Western Conference Finals in game six.. However they would fold—and fold in a major way—inexplicably letting game six get away from them and unable to withstand the Rocket’s momentum into game seven. But let’s get back to the teams still vying for the hardware. 

You have to tip your hat to the Rockets and how they were able to do the unthinkable. With their backs against the wall, against a squad that had dominated the series nonetheless. It would have been easy to lay down and accept defeat. But Houston continued to battle and Harden, MVP runner-up, continued to make big plays.

In the West, it will be a battle between the MVP Stephen Curry and the Runner-Up, James Harden. Four times in the last 20 seasons, the MVP winner and runner-up have met in the playoffs. 

In two of the last three meetings, (Lebron James/Kevin Durant in 2012, Michael Jordan/Karl Malone in 1998) the MVP prevailed and won the series. 

I’m very interested to see who will rise to the occasion with both guys playing at a high level and putting their teams in position to win ball games. 

Over in the East, there is plenty to discuss as well. First, and what most people might draw to, is Cleveland. The Cavs are four wins away from playing for the title. It would be the first for the Cavs franchise.

 I don’t think I need to explain how big it would be for Cavs fans for James to return home and come through with his promise of a tile in only his first year back in Cleveland. 

ESPN with their obsession with Lebron James and bandwagon fans everywhere would lose their minds. SportsCenter would ultimately become LebronCenter at least until football returns. (Which seriously can’t get here fast enough!) 

But before Cleveland can start lighting fires and rioting in the streets in celebration, first they’ll have to find a way to retire the Atlanta Hawks. Talk about another team that is beyond desperate for a World Title for one of their beloveded Pro Sport teams, you’ve got that right here.  As rough as times have been for the Cavs and Browns it hasn’t been all that pretty for the Falcons and Hawks, either. 

Atlanta is set to play in the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time ever and chasing the 1^st title since the franchise moved to ATL from St.Louis in 1968. While the Hawks know they are the underdogs, they don’t mind it. 

Furthermore, they know they took care of business against this very team three out of four times during the regular season. That has to give them even more confidence as they enter this series. 

When you throw the health of the Cavs into the mix with Kevin Love out for the post-season and Kyrie Irving battling injuries as well, the Cavs are definitely a little fragile right now. This could be a one-time opportunity for the Rockets; will they be able to take advantage? 

Outside of the games themselves, which are already pretty intriguing in my book, there are plenty of storylines surrounding the Conference Finals matchups. Whether it’s the battle of cities chasing history in the East bracket or Curry v.s. Harden in the West, I’m sure the media outlets in Atlanta, Cleveland, Oakland and Houston will have plenty to discuss as we approach the NBA Finals. 

Golson to transfer from ND

News broke Thursday that Fighting Irish Quarterback Everett Golson will transfer to another school to play his senior season. The 6-1, 200 pound signal caller graduated this semester and is now free to transfer elsewhere to utilize his final year of eligibility without having to sit out a year.

Last season, Golson thew for 3445 yards for 29 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He's quickly closing in on 6,000 yards passing and 50 touchdowns for his career.

While there is no word on where he intends on going, speculation is flying high on where the Myrtle Beach, SC native will go. Among the rumors floating around, it appears that Florida State might be the most probable destination.

With Winston headed for Tampa Bay, it kinda makes sense for Golson and would offer him the opportunity to not only win, but excel and have a solid season as he prepares for the 2016 NFL draft. Sean Macguire is currently leading the pack as the starter for the upcoming season but the addition of Golson to the Seminole roster has the potential to be a game changer. With all due respect to #10, I think it is safe to say--at least from a skill set point--Golson has what it takes to beat out Maguire for the starting role. In short, FSU makes a lot of sense to me...for both the Seminoles and Golson personally.

There has also been word Georgia, Florida, Texas and South Carolina are all interested in acquiring the services of Golson in the fall. A report Friday stated that he had scheduled visits to South Carolina and UGA for Monday and Tuesday, respectively.

 Georgia and Florida I guess would make sense as both are again in a situation where they could use a more proven and mobile QB such as Golson under center. Not so sure about Texas as much. Can't quite put my finger on it but for some reason that just doesn't seem like it'd be a good fit for him. Not to mention the fact he'd have to face off against the likes of Baylor and TCU within the conference...have fun with that.

South Carolina is an extra interesting possibility to me as a Clemson fan and while it makes sense in some ways, in others....not so much. Sure the Gamecocks need a quarterback and Golson could be a difference maker from day one in Columbia...no doubt about it.

But lets be real...outside of being a QB under Spurrier and the learning experience that would be, why else would he choose Carolina? There are too many unknowns and in all likelihood Carolina will not win 10 or 11 games in 2015. Further, they return only four offensive starters...why transfer to a place where you aren't going to win?

Sure the location might be appealing but for someone who left the Palmetto State and jetted for ND in the first place, I don't think being close to home is so much of a high priority for Golson...especially with it being for just one last season.

However, it should be noted that for Golson to transfer to any SEC school at all, he would need a waiver as he doesn't meet one of the criteria for a SEC graduate transfer rule.

The rule states: "The student-athlete has not been subject to official university or athletics department disciplinary action at any time during enrollment at any previous collegiate institution [excluding limited discipline applied by a sports team]."

The quarterback did not play in 2013 after being from school for "poor academic judgement". He returned to campus last fall and struggled down the stretch when it mattered most.

He spoke well of his now former team during a press conference Thursday : "To all the Fighting Irish fans I want to thank you for the support over the past four years and let you know I truly love Notre Dame! To my former teammates, who I will miss tremendously, I wish much success in the future and will be your biggest fan from afar."

I for one was disappointed but not shocked when I heard the news. This had been speculated for some time now leading up the end of this semester. I was looking forward to a Golson vs Watson battle in Death Valley this fall when the Irish head to Clemson.

And while he may be wearing a different uniform, there is a slight chance I might still get to see them go head-to-head. I wouldn't be surprised at all if the ends up in Tallahassee. Assuming he doesn't get the waiver from the SEC ( or even if he does) I think FSU would be a great choice for both parties. As someone who doesn't have many nice things to say about that team from Tallahassee I wouldn't be crazy about the idea of him joining the Noles but hey, it'd give me my wish this season for a Golson vs Watson showdown in Death Valley.


Where do you think he'll end up?




Notice: 
Quotes taken from article posted on ESPN.com via Brett McMurphy