With just 1.5 seconds remaining and No. 15 Missouri on the cusp a momentous win over No. 4 Alabama on Wednesday night, Dennis Gates made a quick move to the scorers table and grabbed a microphone. The Tigers’ third-year coach had a message to share with a crowd of 15,061 inside Mizzou Arena.
“Please do not rush the court,” he said, eliciting boos from the home fans before repeating the message once more.
Missouri’s students may not have liked his plea in the moment, but they heeded his message and celebrated a 110-98 victory from within the stands.
The Tigers had already been fined $100,000 for violating the SEC’s “access to competition area policy” following a football victory over Kansas State in 2023. Then, they were hit for $250,000 when fans flooded the floor after a win over then-No. 1 Kanas on Dec. 8 of last year.
Another violation of the SEC policy would have resulted in a $500,000 fine, and Gates wanted no part of it.
“We need that money to build NIL,” Gates said. “We don’t need to be getting fines out there.”
His quick-thinking move may have saved his athletic department half-million dollars, and it also allowed the Crimson Tide to safely escape what could have become a raucous postgame celebration.
“The safety, I hope that becomes a normal thing,” Gates said. “When you are excited, which I credit our crowd for being, I just didn’t want us to rush the court and get a fine. That’s kind of how I see it. Ultimately, they showed up, and I thank our crowd. I wasn’t trying to take any fun away from them. I hope they’re ready for next week as well. I kind of want them to keep that energy up and obviously continue to do the things they do to impact the game.”
Vanderbilt was hit with a $500,000 fine last moth for its second court-storming of the season following a win over No. 9 Kentucky and has since implemented an orderly court-storming procedure. Ultimately, Gates’ savvy maneuver cost Alabama, too. When SEC teams violate the league’s court/field-storming policy in league games, the fines are paid to the opposing institution.
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