With just 1.5 seconds left and No. 15 Missouri on the verge of a massive win over No. 4 Alabama on Wednesday night, Dennis Gates quickly made his way to the scorer’s table and grabbed a microphone. The Tigers’ third-year coach had an important message for the crowd of 15,061 inside Mizzou Arena.
“Please do not rush the court,” Gates instructed, drawing boos from the home fans before repeating his request.
While Missouri’s students may not have liked the directive at first, they followed his advice and celebrated the 110-98 victory from their seats.
Earlier in the season, Missouri had been fined $100,000 for violating the SEC’s “access to competition area policy” after a football win over Kansas State in 2023. Then, they faced another $250,000 penalty when fans stormed the court after a victory over then-No. 1 Kansas on December 8. A third violation would have cost the Tigers $500,000, and Gates was determined to avoid that.
“We need that money for NIL,” Gates explained. “We don’t need to be getting fined out there.”
His quick thinking may have saved the athletic department half a million dollars and ensured a smooth postgame experience for Alabama. “The safety, I hope that becomes a normal thing,” Gates said. “When you’re excited, I credit our crowd for that, but I didn’t want us to rush the court and get a fine. That’s how I saw 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, too. I want them to keep that energy up and continue impacting the game.”
Vanderbilt was recently fined $500,000 for its second court-storming of the season after a win over No. 9 Kentucky and has since put in place a structured court-storming policy. Gates’ quick actions ended up costing Alabama as well—when SEC teams break the court-storming policy during league games, the fines go to the opposing school.
