Arkansas set an attendance record Wednesday night, with 20,344 basketball fans filing into Bud Walton Arena Wednesday to witness the Razorbacks inaugural ACC/SEC challenge match against the No. 7 Duke Blue Devils. After the final buzzer sounded on the Hogs 80-75 win, fans flooded onto the court, ignoring the futile pleas of an announcer to stay off the floor.

Arkansas will be fined $100,000 for its first offense under the league’s revised access to competition area policy that was adopted at the SEC Spring Meetings in 2023, according to a release from the Southeastern Conference.

UA was fined $250,000 in February 2022 after fans stormed the court when the Razorbacks defeated the No. 1 Auburn Tigers in overtime.

The policy states that “institutions shall limit access to competition areas to participating student-athletes, coaches, officials, support personnel and properly credentialed or authorized individuals at all times. For the safety of participants and spectators alike, at no time before, during or after a contest may spectators enter the competition area.”

The financial penalties are imposed for violations across all sports sponsored by the conference. A second offense would cost the university $250,000. It would pay $500,000 for third and subsequent offenses.

Under the policy for non-conference contests like the one last night, the fines are deposited into the SEC Post-Graduate Scholarship Fund. For conference contests, fines are paid to the opposing institution, according the release.

Rhett Brinkley is the food editor at the Arkansas Times. Send restaurant tips and food selfies to rhettbrinkley@arktimes.com