ACC rebukes Pitt’s Narduzzi for ripping officials

The ACC publicly reprimanded Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi and fined the school $5,000 on Sunday after he criticized the officiating following a 38-34 win over West Virginia.

Pitt completed a fourth-quarter comeback over its rivals Saturday afternoon in Pittsburgh. In his postgame comments on ESPN, Narduzzi said, “Some of the calls we got — late hit out of bounds, they catch a ball with a hands in the face and I’ve never seen anything like it, you know? Wow. We beat West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl, and we beat the officials, too, in one game.”

Pitt was penalized 12 times for 112 yards, while West Virginia had seven penalties for 67 yards.

In its statement Sunday night, the ACC said Narduzzi violated the ACC sportsmanship policy, which states, in part: “Public criticism of officials or public comments evaluating the officiating of particular contests is not in the best interest of intercollegiate athletics.”