Turns out Wyoming politicians aren’t the only ones being censured these days.
On Sunday, the Mountain West Conference issued a public rebuke of University of Wyoming head football coach Jay Sawvel for publicly criticizing game officials after his team’s loss Saturday, calling them and his coaching “horseshit.”
Sawvel was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct in the fourth quarter of the Cowboys' 27-25 loss to Utah State for arguing a pass interference call. UW would go on to lose the game on a last-second field goal and fall to 1-7 on the season, Sawvel’s first as head coach.
When asked about the penalty during his post-game press conference, the coach said, “I'd say I'm a horseshit head coach, and I think we've had some horseshit officiating,” according to Wyosports.net.
So What?
According to the Mountain West, Sawvel’s comments violate rule 4.2 of the league’s sportsmanship policy, which stipulates that coaches, athletes or other school personnel can’t publicly criticize or disparage officials.
UW declined to comment on the verbal reprimand.
The reprimand holds no other punishment from the conference other than being a public condemnation.
The Wyoming Republican Party has made verbal reprimands, also known as censures, a favorite tool in its toolbox to condemn public officials in recent years. The party’s censure of former congresswoman Liz Cheney was most notable, catching national headlines at the time in 2021.
Tough Season
There’s not a lot going well in Sawvel’s world at the moment and his penalty came at a particularly unfortunate time in the Pokes’ loss Saturday night.
With the Pokes nursing a 22-17 lead with 12:42 left in the fourth quarter, officials called pass interference on Wyoming defender Wyett Ekeler. After the play, cameras showed Sawvel standing about 5 yards onto the field and arguing with one of the referees. What was clearly an animated conversation resulted in the referee throwing his hat and a penalty flag shortly after engaging with the coach.
Sawvel appeared to briefly try and calm down the referee but it was to no avail.
The penalty was critical as it tacked on another 15 yards to the pass interference penalty and allowed Utah State to move into a position to score a touchdown.
UW football has had a tough year in Sawvel’s first season, falling to 1-7 on the season after the home loss to an equally poor Utah State squad, which also was 1-6 going into the game.
It’s the worst start to a season for the Cowboys since 2015.
Saturday’s loss also marks the first time since 2018 that the Pokes will not play in a bowl game, as they can no longer become bowl eligible in their slate of four remaining games.
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
