Utah athletics director Mark Harlan was fined $40,000 on Sunday following a 22-21 loss to No. 7 BYU on Saturday night.
The Big 12 also issued a public reprimand after Harlan’s disparaging comments Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Harlan was also confronted by a referee after the match.
“Mark’s comments have irresponsibly called into question the professionalism of our officials and the integrity of the Big 12 Conference,” Commissioner Brett Yormark said in a statement. “There is a right and a wrong way to express concerns. Unfortunately, Mark chose the wrong path.
“Accordingly, this violation warrants a public reprimand and a financial penalty. The Big 12 Conference prioritizes professionalism, integrity and honesty and will continue to do so.”
The fine is significant in the Big 12. The last two athletic directors to be fined — Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt and Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades — received only $25,000 in fines for their respective violations in recent years.
on Saturday evening in an unusual appearance. He said he planned to talk to the league about the end of the game, which turned into some controversy after Utah cornerback Zemaiah Vaughn was hit with a holding penalty that negated a sack on fourth down.
The sack would have ended the game and given Utah the win. Instead, it gave the Cougars another set of downs and ultimately set up a 44-yard field goal to give them the win and remain undefeated on the season.
“This game was absolutely stolen from us,” Harlan said. “We were excited about getting into the Big 12, but tonight I’m not. We won this game. Someone else stole it from us. Very disappointed.”
“I will talk to the commissioner. This was not fair to our team. I am disgusted with the professionalism of the officiating tonight.”
Utah coach Kyle Wittingham called it a “ridiculous situation” after the game, but was much less critical in his comments.
“Whatever decision the officials make, I don’t think they’re trying to get it wrong, so that’s just part of the game,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. “The referees are part of the game. We were able to respond to that.”
The win moved BYU to 9-0 on the season. The Cougars moved up to No. 7 in the AP Poll this week and are in prime position to both win the Big 12 and earn a spot in the College Football Playoff. The Cougars, who have a slight lead in the conference standings over No. 20 Colorado, will host Kansas on Saturday night.
Utah, on the other hand, has now lost five straight games and dropped to 4-5 on the season. The Utes will take on the Buffaloes on Saturday.
