A checkerboard Neyland Stadium, a cold fall night, and a sold-out game sounds like a perfect night for Tennessee football, right? Well, some fans would beg to differ. Saturday, October 16 the University of Tennessee played the University of Mississippi for the first time in 10 years. This chilly game started with a rather tense atmosphere due to Tennessee’s misfortunate past with the former vols coach, and now Ole Miss head coach: Lane Kiffin. 

A UT fan with high spirits, Hadley Kembel (11), was in attendance.

“It was really crowded and everybody was obviously excited,” Kembel said.

As tensions rose throughout this already taut game, Tennessee fans were eager to see Ole Miss lose.

“Tennessee fans dislike him [Lane Kiffin]…they [Vol fans] definitely wanted Ole Miss to lose,” Kembel said.

Things started to get unpleasant during the fourth quarter. A few Tennessee fans began to throw items onto the field such as food, condiments, and even a golf ball that hit former Vols coach Lane Kiffin.

“The end of the game got a little crazy, with all of the throwing bottles and such, but besides that, it was so exciting. All of the people around me were freaking out, wanting the game to continue, and really just hoping that UT could come back and win,” Kembel said.

Kembel remembers the game as intense and exciting.

“There weren’t a ton of people throwing stuff around me, but across from me, on the other side of the stadium above Ole Miss, there was stuff being thrown everywhere…this game was really exciting,” Kembel said.

Even with all of the excitement, Kembel doesn’t necessarily condone everything that happened.

“I don’t agree with throwing things at all. It was really late and everybody wanted to see the end of that game, but the stuff being thrown was causing the game to be set back,” Kembel said.

Because of these actions, the University of Tennessee was fined $250,000 by the Southeastern Conference. Not only were they fined, but there was also talk of suspending the sale of alcohol in Neyland Stadium, as alcohol had a lot to do with this situation.

https://www.knoxnews.com/story/sports/college/university-of-tennessee/football/2021/10/20/tennessee-vols-football-sec-fine-trash-ole-miss-basketball/6057131001/