IOWA CITY – Iowa basketball coach Fran McCaffery got a little too hot under the collar at Sunday night’s Big Ten game in Madision against highly-ranked Wisconsin as his team’s double-digit lead slipped away, and a tirade that got him thrown out of the game brought an apology Monday.
“I want to apologize for my emotional reaction during Sunday night’s game at Wisconsin. I have great passion and respect for the game of basketball and everyone involved in it. I regret that my actions put our program and the University of Iowa in a negative light. I look forward to working with my staff and my players to move forward and compete for a championship.”
University of Iowa Athletics Director Gary Barta also released a statement Monday, saying that he had met with coach McCaffery and that his behavior would have to be corrected.
“I’ve met with Coach McCaffery regarding last night’s ejection from the game in Madison,” Barta said. “He knows he crossed a line of acceptable behavior and accepts responsibility for his actions. All staff at the University of Iowa fully support the Big Ten Conference’s sportsmanship policy’s fundamental elements, including civility and respect toward opponents and game officials. Fran has my full support moving forward.”
Iowa is 1-1 in the Big Ten Conference and ranked in the Top 25 teams in the nation for the first time in years.
I watched the game – they made horrible calls & deserved to be told off.