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Myron Medcalf, ESPN Staff Writer
The Big 12 will announce a $25,000 fine for Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades, who called the officiating in his team’s home win over Iowa State on Saturday “an embarrassment for this league,” a source told ESPN on Tuesday.
The league will announce the fine Tuesday afternoon. Matt Norlander of CBS Sports first reported the news.
During Baylor’s victory on Saturday, Scott Drew was ejected for the first time in his career after he received a pair of technical fouls for standing outside the coaching box. After the game, Drew said he wasn’t given an explanation for the ejection.
Rhoades spoke after Drew following the game against Iowa State and said the officiating was subpar.
“I’m not somebody that calls the officials or calls the league after every game,” Rhoades told reporters. “In fact, I never call when it comes to officiating. It’s always about, ‘We need to play better, we need to execute better, we need to play tougher,’ all of those things. But tonight was an embarrassment for this league. We have the best basketball league in the country, and the officiating tonight did not match it. Period. End of story.”
The NCAA has made a point of acknowledging the coaching box rules. In 2017, the box was extended and this year, a memo in the rulebook reiterated that “additional focus/attention should be given to the consistent enforcement of bench decorum, the coaching box and unsporting conduct rules for both players and bench personnel.” But an ejection for violating the coaching box rules is rare.
“This league needs to get better when we think about our officiating,” Rhoades said Saturday. “And we have some great, great officials. But this particular crew tonight did not match the level of this game. And that shouldn’t happen in this league. I’m going to fight for our program. I’m going to fight for our school. I’m going to fight for our coaches. We’re going to fight for our student-athletes. I’ll be on the phone [Sunday].”
Last month, the Big 12 fined UCF $25,000 after its fans stormed the court following a home win over Kansas.