"The conduct by USC Athletics Director Pat Haden was inappropriate," said Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott. "Such actions by an administrator in attempt to influence the officiating, and ultimately the outcome of a contest, will not be tolerated."
"The conduct by both Sarkisian and Haden were in clear violation of our Conference's Standards of Conduct policy," added Scott. "We appreciate the public apology and recognition of the errors in judgment, as well as Pat Haden's self-imposed 2-game sideline ban. We took this into consideration as we determined the discipline. Nonetheless, the actions fell short of our expectation of our head coaches and athletics directors as role models for our student-athletes and important leaders of our institutions."
Click here for the complete Pac-12 release.For his part, Sarkisian issued his own additional statement today, saying, "I regret putting Pat in the situation I put him in on Saturday. It is my job to manage the game, not Pat's. For the good of the game, I will be better on this in the future."
Haden made a public apology Sunday night as well as self-imposing a two-game sideline ban.
College Football Playoff Executive Director Bill Hancock on Haden:
"Emotional outbursts at games are not a matter for the playoff selection committee to deal with. This does not affect Pat Haden's capability as a committee member. We recognize that athletic directors cannot be dispassionate about their own teams, and that's why we have the recusal policy."
