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Another college football season is right around the corner, and one of the most highly anticipated things about this year is Lane Kiffin‘s return to Ole Miss and later his trip to Neyland Stadium. While the game is months away, Tennessee Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel is seemingly encouraging fans to get prepared to create a chaotic environment.
Speaking to reporters on Monday at SEC Media Days, the Volunteers coach said that he hopes the fan base’s emotions “haven’t cooled off” and that stores are well-stocked on golf balls and mustard ahead of Kiffin’s return to Knoxville on Nov. 21.
“I certainly hope that our fans haven’t cooled off, whether it’s the grocery stores stocked up on mustard, or the sports stores that they’ve got reinforcements on the golf balls, hopefully Knoxville is ready for his arrival”
Tennessee Volunteers HC Josh Heupel on Lane Kiffin’s looming return to Neyland Stadium (via Michael Cauble)
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It’s a reference to what happened back in 2021 when Kiffin, then the Ole Miss Rebels head coach, made his long-awaited return to Neyland Stadium. In the Rebels’ 31-26 victory under the lights in front of a sold-out crowd, the raucous home crowd started launching golf balls and mustard onto the field with some of them thrown in Kiffin’s direction.
Kiffin made the best of it at the time, even taking a yellow golf ball with him as a souvenir and comparing that night to “Gladiator.” While he seemed to enjoy some of the spectacle and reveled in the hatred that came his way, the SEC fined Tennessee $250,000 for the fans’ behavior.
Heupel almost certainly earned himself some more support from Vol Nation for his comments on Monday, fueling the fan base’s hatred for Kiffin and egging them on to bring that behavior back in November when the LSU Tigers come to Knoxville. However, the SEC probably won’t view it the same way.
“The disruption of Saturday night’s game is unacceptable and cannot be repeated on any SEC campus. Today’s actions are consistent with the oversight assigned by the membership to the SEC office, including the financial penalty and review of alcohol availability. We will use this opportunity to reemphasize to each SEC member the importance of providing a safe environment even with the intensity of competition that occurs every week.”
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey in October 2021 after Tennessee Volunteers fans threw golf balls at then-Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin in his return to Neyland Stadium
By encouraging the behavior to continue, even mentioning the throwing of the golf balls, it could be viewed as Heupel publicly approving of fans trashing the field at Neyland Stadium again and trying to hit Kiffin with objects. Doing it well in advance of the matchup could be interpreted by the SEC as Tennessee’s head coach inciting dangerous action that could jeopardize the safety of those on the field.
It feels like a certainty that some fans will feel emboldened by Heupel’s comments and throw whatever they can at Kiffin this season when he’s back in Knoxville. Given that, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey could hand down much harsher penalties to Tennessee if it happens again, and the officials working the game could potentially penalize the team for the fans’ unsportsmanlike conduct.
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