RENO, Nev. (AP) -Nevada basketball coach Mark Fox was reprimanded by the Western Athletic Conference on Tuesday for unsportsmanlike conduct with referees during two games in March.
He was spared a fine or suspension by the league.
The more serious of the two incidents involved Fox yelling profanities and appearing ready to use force toward a police officer and game officials after the Wolf Pack lost to Utah State in the WAC tournament on March 9 at Las Cruces, N.M.
New Mexico State University campus police filed a police report but agreed to WAC Commissioner Karl Benson’s request at the time to let the league handle an investigation into the matter.
“The WAC has a set of standards by which all coaches, student-athletes and administrators are expected to follow when it comes to exhibiting good sportsmanship,” Benson said in a statement Tuesday. “Coach Fox violated those standards.”
Fox also issued a statement Tuesday apologizing for his behavior.
“I take full responsibility for my actions that resulted in this and apologize to all those involved,” Fox said. “I have renewed my commitment to adhere to the WAC’s sportsmanship policies in the future.”
Benson was attending a meeting Tuesday on the Bowl Championship Series in New Orleans and was not immediately available for additional comment, WAC spokesman Dave Chaffin said.
Chaffin said he did not know if the league considered fining or suspending Fox for a game. He said the reprimand carried no additional penalties.
“A public reprimand is just pretty much what it says,” Chaffin told The Associated Press from WAC headquarters in Denver. “It’s not really penalizing. It would go in the file and next time something like this happens, more stringent penalties could occur.”
On March 1, Fox bumped an official after a foul was called against Wolf Pack star forward Nick Fazekas in the final minutes of a loss at Utah State.
Last month, the WAC also reprimanded New Mexico State coach Reggie Theus for violating the league’s sportsmanship policy during a tournament game. Theus left the bench and went onto the court after a New Mexico State player was intentionally fouled during the March 8 game against Boise State, the conference said.
The last time the WAC suspended a coach was on Feb. 10, 1998, when then-Texas El Paso coach Don Haskins was suspended for one game, Chaffin said.
Haskins had been reprimanded earlier in the season after an altercation with an official earlier. He then publicly criticized officials after he was ejected from a game on Feb. 7, which led to the suspension.
Add A Comment