Missouri HC Dennis Gates unravels NIL reason behind asking Tigers fans to avoid rushing the court after beating Alabama
No. 15 Missouri coach Dennis Gates urged fans in Mizzou Arena to avoid rushing to the court 1.5 seconds before the Tigers defeated No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide 110-98 on Wednesday.
"Do not rush the court!" Gates said on the microphone. "Please do not rush the court."
In the post-game interview, the coach clarified that his gesture came purely to protect the program from sustaining a fine.
"We need that money to go to NIL," he said. "We don’t need to be getting fined out there. But the safety and I hope that becomes a normal thing."
"When you are excited, which I credit our crowd being, I just didn’t want us to rush the court and get a fine. That’s kind of how I see it."
The fines for fans rushing the floor vary depending on the conference. For the SEC, the first offense requires the program to pay $100,000, the second fine demands $250,000, and the third and subsequent offenses result in a penalty of $500,000.
Had Missouri overstepped on Wednesday, Dennis Gates' team would have had to shell out $500,000. Moreover, the amount would have gone to Alabama's fund as conference game fines are paid to the opposing program.
The Tigers were given a $250,000 fine in December after upsetting then-No. 1 Kansas 76-67. The Southeastern Conference's policy states that the competitive floor is only accessible to players, coaches, referees, support personnel and other authorized individuals at all times.
Dennis Gates believes Missouri is yet to reach its prime
Alabama marked Missouri's 5th ranked win this season and the third against a top 5 opponent. While Dennis Gates acknowledges his team's growth near the end of the season, he believes that the Tigers' best stretch of games is yet to come.
"Whenever you can score 110 points in a game, no overtime, it says we are continuing to take the steps we need to take one at a time," he said.
"And I'm proud of the direction we are going in as it relates to getting better. I still don't think our team has played its very best and they would say the same."
Dennis Gates' team will now travel to face John Calipari's Arkansas on Saturday. The hosts will enter the contest after a back-to-back loss against No. 8 Texas A&M and No. 1 Auburn. Missouri hosted the Razorbacks on Jan. 18 and won 83-65.