The Big 12 on Tuesday announced 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 “a disgrace to this league.”
Rhoades also received a public reprimand in accordance with Big 12 sports policies.
Baylor coach Scott Drew was ejected for the first time in his career after receiving a pair of technical fouls for standing outside the practice area during Saturday's victory. The Bears bench received another technical foul shortly after leaving the game.
Drew said he was not given an explanation for the expulsion.
Rhoades spoke after Drew followed the game and said the officiating was poor.
“I'm not someone who calls the refs or the league after every game,” Rhoades told reporters. “I actually 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 harder,' all those things. But tonight was an embarrassment for this league. We have the best league. of basketball in the country, and tonight's refereeing was not up to par. Period. End of story.
The NCAA has made efforts to recognize the rules of coaches boxing. In 2017, the table was expanded and this year, a memo in the rule book reiterated that “additional attention/focus must be given to the consistent application of bench decorum, coaching table and unsportsmanlike conduct rules for both players as well as for the bank staff. But an expulsion for violating the rules of the coaches' box is rare.
“This league needs to improve when we think about our officiating,” Rhoades said Saturday. “And we have some fantastic referees. But this particular team tonight didn't rise to 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 are going to fight for our student-athletes. I will be on the phone [Sunday]”.
Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark, who was at the game, said in a statement Tuesday that it is vital that senior administration officials, especially ADs, explicitly adhere to policies governing officiating matters.
“As the nation's top basketball conference, the competitive balance in this league leads to extremely intense competition, and it can be very difficult to balance supporting an institution's teams while also fully meeting agreed-upon expectations,” Yorkmark said. “On this occasion the required discipline was not exercised.”
Last month, the Big 12 fined UCF $25,000 after its fans stormed the field following a home win over Kansas.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
