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Pete Thamel, ESPN
The Big 12 fined Utah athletic director Mark Harlan $40,000 and issued a public reprimand in the wake of his disparaging comments about officiating after Utah’s home loss to BYU late Saturday.
Harlan said the game was “absolutely stolen” from Utah and he was “disgusted by the professionalism” of the Big 12 officiating crew. Harlan took the podium in the interview room after the game specifically to address the officiating, a rare move for an AD.
The Big 12 fine is considered stiff, as the three athletic director fines of note in the past decade were all $25,000.
Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said in a statement that the comments “irresponsibly challenged the professionalism of our officials and the integrity of the Big 12 Conference.”
Yormark added: “There is a right way and a wrong way to voice concerns. Unfortunately, Mark chose the wrong way. Accordingly, this violation warrants a public reprimand and financial penalty.”
In a statement Sunday night, Harlan acknowledged that there are “more appropriate times and avenues” to express concerns over officiating, adding that he will accept the fine.
“My comments came after having just left our team locker room where our student-athletes were hurting and upset,” he said in the statement. “The University of Utah is proud to be a member of the Big 12 Conference and we look forward to working with our peers to continue to enhance the league. BYU, Coach Sitake and their coaches and student-athletes are having a terrific season and we wish them the very best.”
The night’s most controversial call was a holding call on Utah’s Zemaiah Vaughn, which came with 1:29 left and took away a fourth-down sack that would have ended the game. Instead, BYU used the penalty as a springboard for a game-winning drive that was capped off by Will Ferrin‘s 44-yard field goal. The win kept BYU (9-0, 6-0 Big 12) undefeated.
Harlan also took issue with the Big 12: “We were excited about being in the Big 12, but tonight I am not. We won this game.”
He said he’d talk to Yormark: “This was not fair to our team.”
Harlan’s comments amplified the attention on a season of frustration for Utah (4-5). The Utes, in their first year in the league since coming over from the Pac-12, were picked first in the preseason Big 12 poll. The loss dropped Utah to 1-5 in league play.
Offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig already stepped down for Utah in late October, and the program has started three different quarterbacks in nine games.
There is some precedent to the penalty in the Big 12. In football, Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard was fined $25,000 and given a public reprimand for criticizing officiating in 2014. Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt was also fined $25,000 in 2019 for criticizing football officials. Last season, Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades also was fined $25,000 for criticizing basketball officials after coach Scott Drew was ejected from a game.
Max Olson and Kyle Bonagura contributed to this story.