LOUISVILLE, Ky. — University of Louisville women's basketball coach Jeff Walz predicted he would be fined, and on Tuesday, that prediction came true.
The ACC announced a $20,000 institutional fine to Louisville two days after Walz ripped the officials for a controversial call made at the end of Sunday's game against Syracuse, which UL lost by a point. Walz ranted for about a minute straight after the game, saying an intentional foul call against one of his players was "god-awful" and the officials should be "embarrassed."
The league issued a statement Tuesday, which stated in part:
"Walz’s postgame comments regarding the officials were in direct violation of the ACC Sportsmanship Policy that 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 ACC considers this matter closed and will have no further comment."
The Cardinals led 72-71 in the final seconds and had two fouls to give. Olivia Cochran reached out to foul a Syracuse player in order to force them to inbound the ball as opposed to running a set play.
Cochran was called for an intentional foul instead of a common foul, and the Orange were awarded two free throws. They made both and won the game.
A call of that nature is unusual in those circumstances.
"It was a god-awful call," Walz said. "It was absolutely terrible officiating. They should be embarrassed. I'll get my fine, I'm sure. I'll get a letter of reprimand. But at this point, somebody has to start holding these officials accountable.
"That call was the worst call I've seen in my 29 years of coaching. If we're going to start calling that, every foul at the end of a game when a team has to foul is intentional. We all know it is. But to call it in a one-point game with 2.5 seconds left is just awful. It's atrocious."
The funds from the imposed institutional fine will be placed into the Weaver-James-Corrigan-Swofford Postgraduate Scholarship account.
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