The Big 12 Conference announced Sunday that in accordance with its sportsmanship policies, the league had issued a public reprimand of University of Utah athletic director Mark Harlan for his comments following the Utes' football game Saturday against Brigham Young University.
Additionally, Harlan was issued a $40,000 fine andvinformed that a repeat of such behavior will result in a more serious penalty, according to the official announcement on the Big 12 website.
As reported by the Deseret News in Salt Lake City, Harlan made an impromptu appearance at the podium following No. 9 BYU’s 22-21 come-from-behind victory late Saturday night after Utah seemingly stopped the Cougars twice on fourth down during the game's final drive.
“I’ve been an athletic director for 12 years. This game was absolutely stolen from us,” Harlan told reporters. “We were excited about being in the Big 12, but tonight I am not.
“We won this game. Someone else stole it from us. Very disappointed. I will talk to the (Big 12 Conference) commissioner. This was not fair to our team. I’m disgusted by the professionalism of the officiating crew tonight. Thank you.”
"Mark’s comments irresponsibly challenged the professionalism of our officials and the integrity of the Big 12 Conference,” Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark stated. “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. The Big 12 Conference prioritizes professionalism, integrity, and fairness, and will continue to do so.”
As reported by The Associated Press, Harlan issued a statement late Sunday accepting the punishment.
“Last night following our game against BYU, I made clear my feelings related to the game officiating,” he said. “However, I recognize that there are more appropriate times and avenues to express those concerns, and I accept the consequences of my decision. My comments came after having just left our team locker room where our student-athletes were hurting and upset. 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.”
According to the AP, the sequence of events that triggered Harlan's ire started when BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff threw an incomplete pass in the end zone, but the play was blown dead a few seconds after the snap because officials said BYU called a timeout before the snap. Then, Junior Tafuna and Karene Reid sacked Retzlaff on the replayed fourth down. Their sack was negated when Utes cornerback Zemaiah Vaughn was called for holding.
BYU, which had trailed Utah by 11 points at halftime, earned a fresh set of downs and covered enough ground to set up a 44-yard field goal by Will Farrin with four seconds remaining to win the game. With their one-point victory, the Cougars moved up to spots to No. 7 in the latest AP poll.
