Utah athletics director Mark Harlan angers referees after loss to BYU

by Junna Base November 10, 2024

Utah athletics director Mark Harlan made a surprise visit to Saturday’s postgame press conference and made sure his feelings about the Utes’ 22-21 loss to No. 9 BYU were made known.

Harlan complained about the refereeing in Utah’s 22-21 loss to rival BYU at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. The Utes AD, who has been in charge of leading Utes athletics since 2018, questioned the validity of his program’s loss and questioned the referees.

“This game was absolutely stolen from us,” Harlan said. “We were excited to be in the Big 12, but tonight I’m not. We won this game. Someone else stole it from us. Very disappointed.”

“I will speak to the commissioner. That wasn’t fair to our team. I am disgusted by the professionalism of the officiating crew tonight.”

Utah joined the Big 12 as part of a mass exodus from the Pac-12, and the 2024 season will be its first season as a member. Following his statement, Harlan did not answer questions from the media or elaborate on the calls he questioned.

One possible decision could be that Utah cornerback Zemaiah Vaughn was assessed a holding penalty on fourth down at the Cougars’ 1-yard line with 1:29 left. The penalty wiped out a sack by BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff that would have won the game for the Utes.

After the first down of the shootout, BYU moved the ball down the field and kicker Will Ferrin kicked a 44-yard field goal to secure the rival victory. With the win, the Cougars are now 9-0 and 6-0 in Big 12 play, keeping their shot at the 12-team College Football Playoff.

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