KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The University of Tennessee said it has identified some people suspected of throwing trash on the field during the Ole Miss football game on Saturday, Oct. 16.
Fans threw trash onto the field after a controversial fourth down call in the fourth quarter of Tennessee's football game against Ole Miss, stopping the game for nearly 20 minutes. As of Tuesday, Oct. 19, the UT Police Department said that there were 18 arrests and 51 ejections at the game.
The Southeastern Conference fined UT $250,000 for the game disruption.
The Office of Student Conduct has received 16 reports alleging an identifiable student who was throwing trash and is "handling those reports in accordance with the university’s procedures in the Student Code of Conduct," according to the university.
UT said any student found responsible for disrupting the game will be prohibited from attending any Tennessee Athletics events for the remainder of the 2021-22 academic and athletic year, in addition to any other sanctions that are appropriate for the misconduct.
Nine non-student attendees have been identified and will be notified that they will not be eligible to attend any Tennessee Athletics events for the remainder of the 2021-22 academic and athletic year, according to UT.
The university said it will continue to investigate any additional reports it receives regarding the disruption of the Ole Miss football game.
The university said UT Athletics conducted a collaborative review with UTPD, the Division of Student Life and others and made a series of short-term recommendations, as well as longer-term considerations, for the chancellor and director of athletics.
These recommendations address both the specifics of the Ole Miss game, as well as the broader student experience based on feedback from students, according to UT. Having a safe, loud, energized student section is critical to the game and the Neyland Stadium experience.
In a letter to SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, UT Director of Athletics Danny White said in part that "such disruptive behavior does not represent our fanbase as a whole."
UT Spokesperson Tyra Haag confirmed these “recommendations” are set in stone.
The school is stepping up game security and prohibiting guest tickets at the Georgia Game. UT Student Body President Claire Donelen said it’s a tough but necessary repercussion. "I think it's definitely needed to change some things," she said.
"It sucks, I was actually going to bring my dad so now he can't come," UT Student Sayler Preston said.
The most impactful recommendations include enhanced security, entrance metal detectors, and prohibiting student guest tickets at the Georgia game in November. "I understand where they're coming from like what happened at the Ole Miss game was unacceptable but I feel like taking away the student guest privileges is a little too much," Colby Flowers.
Claire Donalen weighed the recommendations’ pros and cons. "Now some of the security is going to be revamped which is great but then also we're losing a little bit of the game day experience," she said.
Some say this couldn't have come at a worse time considering Georgia's ranked number one in the SEC. "You know playing a big team like Georgia just not having as many people in the stands. That's not going to do anything good for the team," Flowers said.
Although Donalen hates the thought of students not allowed at such a competitive game, she hopes students and fans use this as a learning experience. "I'm hoping that people understand what it means to be a volunteer. We always say Vol is a verb and we can choose every single day to represent our school how we want to and I hope people take this as an opportunity to realize, my actions do matter,” Donalen said.