Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi was fined $5,000 by the ACC and handed a public reprimand for comments he made to ESPN about the officiating crew after the Panthers’ 38-34 victory against West Virginia.
ACC officials said in a news release Sunday night that Narduzzi violated the ACC Sportsmanship Policy.
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi slams the officials after beating WVU.
"Some of the calls we got. Late hit out of bounds. They catch a ball with a hands to the face. I ain't never seen anything like it.
We beat West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl. And we beat the officials, too." pic.twitter.com/tnTZdm4vc7
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 14, 2024
In a postgame interview with ESPN’s Dawn Davenport, Narduzzi was highly critical of the on-field officials.
“Some of the calls we got, late hit out of bounds, they catch a ball (WVU touchdown) with hands to the face and I’ve never seen anything like it. Wow,” he said. “We beat West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl, and we beat the officials, too, in one game.”
The ACC policy states, “Public criticism of officials or public comments evaluating the officiating of particular contests is not in the best interest of intercollegiate athletics. Individuals associated with the athletics program are prohibited, therefore, from commenting while acting in an official capacity on officiating other than directly to the conference office.”
The league said the fine will be placed into the Weaver-James-Corrigan-Swofford Postgraduate Scholarship account.
ACC officials said they will have no further comment.
