Big 12 fines Baylor AD Mack Rhoades $25K for criticism of officials after Scott Drew's ejection

Published Feb. 6, 2024 5:32 p.m. ET

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WACO, Texas (AP) — The Big 12 has fined Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades $25,000 for his criticism of officials after the 13th-ranked Bears' victory over Iowa State last weekend when coach Scott Drew was ejected for getting two technical fouls.

Rhoades was also given a public reprimand Tuesday. That and the fine were in accordance to Big 12 sportsmanship policies.

Drew was ejected for the first time in his 21 seasons as Baylor's coach when he got his second technical foul with about 11 1/2 minutes left in Saturday's 70-68 win. The Bears bench was assessed another technical foul soon after he had left the game.

After players and coaches completed postgame interviews Saturday night, Rhoades called the officiating in the game “an embarrassment” for the league.

”Scott (Drew) said it, we have the best basketball league in the country. And the officiating tonight did not match that. Period, end of story,” Rhoades said then. “This league needs to get better when we think about our officiating. 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," he added.

Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark, who was at that game, said in a statement Tuesday that it is vital for senior administration officials, especially ADs, to explicitly adhere to policies governing officiating matters.

“As the top basketball conference in the country the competitive balance in this league leads to extremely intense competition, and it can be very difficult to balance support for an institution’s teams while fully complying with the agreed upon expectations,” Yormark said. “On this occasion, the required discipline was not exercised.”

Those two quick technical fouls came in a segment when Iowa State made eight consecutive free throws as part of a 20-0 run to go ahead by seven points before Baylor rallied to win.

Both of Drew’s technical fouls, the first coming midway through the first half, apparently were because he was outside the coaching box around the bench area.

The Big 12 didn't publicly address what led to the those technical fouls.

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