Not that the coffers at Ole Miss can't easily swallow a $75,000 bill for damages resulting from Rebels fans rushing the field at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium after a stunning win over Alabama, but thanks to those very fans, the school won't have to pay a dime.
Ole Miss set up a web page for the "Victory Celebration Fund," in response to fans wanting to know how they could help offset the following costs: $22,000 for the replacement of goal posts, $50,000 for the SEC fine the school incurred for the fans rushing the field, and another $3,000 for various other stadium repair.
Of course, donations to the fund have overshot the goal and now stand at more than $100,000, with nearly three weeks to go before the fundraising effort is scheduled to close.
And with that, the reputation for hospitality in the Grove is now all the stronger.
"We will gladly pay for this, but countless fans from Rebel nation have asked me about how they can contribute to offset this expense," Ole Miss athletic director Ross Bjork said via a video clip on the fundraising page.
What's more, the school is offering pieces of the goalpost for top-end donations. Those contributing $500 or more, but less than $1,000, get a three-inch piece of one of the fallen goalposts. Want a six-inch piece of goalpost history? $1,000 will buy it.
A great fundraising idea -- but not exactly a deterrent for another field rush the next time the Rebels pull off an upset at home.
Defending SEC champion Auburn visits Oxford, Miss., on Nov. 1.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
