The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) has fined Louisville women's basketball coach Jeff Walz and reprimanded him for his critical comments on officiating following the Cardinals' close 73-72 loss to Syracuse. In the aftermath of the game, Walz didn't mince words about his feelings regarding a late intentional foul call on Cardinals forward Olivia Cochran, which led to Syracuse's Dyaisha Fair making two decisive free throws with just 2.3 seconds left on the clock.
Walz's public criticism, particularly his comments that the officiating was “absolutely terrible” and calling the intentional foul decision “a god-awful call,” was found to be in violation of the ACC's sportsmanship policy. The policy strictly prohibits public comments on officiating, insisting that any grievances be directed privately to the league office, per the Associated Press. The ACC stated that such public criticism is not conducive to the spirit of intercollegiate athletics.
“If we're going to start calling that, every foul at the end of the game when a team has to foul is intentional … every foul is … we all know it is. But to call it in a one-point game with 2.5 seconds left, it's awful, it's atrocious, it's embarrassing. It's embarrassing for our league,” Jeff Walz said at the time.
The $20,000 fine levied against Louisville will contribute to the Weaver-James-Corrigan-Swofford Postgraduate Scholarship account, with the ACC deeming the matter resolved and declining further comment. This incident has drawn attention not just for the fine itself but also for highlighting the ongoing debate about officiating in high-stakes college basketball games.
Louisville meets Boston College on Thursday, then hosts No. 16 Virginia Tech.
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