The Pac-12 Conference fined USC athletic director Pat Haden $25,000 on Monday for a confrontation during Saturday’s game against Stanford.
The confrontation happened late in the third quarter of Saturday’s game. Haden left the press area and ran across the field at the request of a USC staff member. USC linebacker Hayes Pullard had just been ejected from the game for targeting, but Haden was talking to the official about an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on USC coach Steve Sarkisian, according to USA Today. Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott said that Haden’s actions were inappropriate.
"The conduct by USC Athletics Director Pat Haden was inappropriate," Scott said in a statement. "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. 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."
Haden is a member of the College Football Playoff committee. The Committee decides the four teams that will play for the national title at the end of the season. He isn’t allowed to be a part of any votes that involve USC when ranking teams according to the committee’s recusal policy. Bill Hancock, College Football Playoff’s executive director, said that Haden’s status on the committee hasn’t changed with the discipline from the Pac-12, according to the Associated Press.
Haden apologized for the incident on Sunday. He won’t be on the sidelines for the next two games. USC won the game 13-10.