Missouri State head coach Dana Ford becomes latest Valley coach to have run-in with officials
Wyatt D. Wheeler
Missouri State first-year head coach Dana Ford was ejected during Wednesday night's loss to Northern Iowa and became the latest Missouri Valley Conference head coach to have a run-in with officials.
Ford received a double-technical and was ejected from Wednesday's game. MVC assistant commissioner Mike Kern told the News-Leader in an email Thursday morning that Ford will not be suspended.
"The conference considers the matter closed," Kern said. "There will be no further punishment or reprimand for Coach Ford."
With 2:23 left in the game and the Bears down 53-41, frustration over the officiating carried over from the season-high of MSU fans in attendance to the Missouri State bench.
During a stoppage, the Bears' head coach went straight toward official Rick Crawford.
More:Dana Ford ejected during frustrating night as Missouri State falls to Northern Iowa
Ford was given a double-technical after it appeared the head coach said some expletives in the direction of Crawford.
A double-technical meant Ford was ejected. As he started to walk off the court, he turned around to yell at the officials some more before being escorted off to the applause of the Missouri State faithful.
Missouri State went on to lose the game 63-43.
After the game, Ford was made available to the media, where he said the play of his team and his game plan going into the game led to frustration.
"My team wasn't playing very well," Ford said. "We just weren't making very many shots. My defensive game plan wasn't very good so I was extra, extra frustrated."
Ford is the latest Missouri Valley Conference head coach to be ejected from a game by Crawford.
Crawford was the referee who ejected first-year Evansville head coach Walter McCarty on Feb. 6 late in the Purple Aces' 85-62 loss at Indiana State.
Evansville Courier & Press reporter Pat Hickey wrote in February that McCarty's ejection was "certainly a case of what he said rather than how it was said."
McCarty was not suspended after being ejected in February.
When asked after the game if he expected any kind of suspension, Ford said he didn't expect to.
"I don't know the rules," Ford said. "If I get suspended, I'll serve my suspension."
Ford's incident is the latest of an increasingly long line of MVC head coaches being upset with the officials.
In addition to McCarty being tossed in February without suspension, he did receive a suspension earlier in the season after criticizing referees publicly during a postgame radio interview.
“Tonight was unreal,” McCarty told Aces’ radio play-by-play announcer Jevin Redman after Evansville's 78-66 loss at Drake on Jan. 23. “Our guys had to fight an uphill battle. The officiating sucked tonight — very inconsistent. It’s a shame.”
Missouri Valley Conference assistant commissioner Mike Kern — who handles media relations for the league — told the Courier & Press that Commissioner Doug Elgin "handles those situations directly with the league."
McCarty was suspended one game and was privately reprimanded by the league for his post-game complaints the next day.
Illinois State head coach Dan Muller was reprimanded by the MVC on Jan. 25 after making public comments following ISU's loss to Bradley. He was given a technical by official Paul Janssen.
Muller was allowed to coach the next game.
“We encourage all coaches and administrators to utilize proper channels when communicating on any officiating matters,” Elgin said in a statement released by the MVC office. “Coach Muller’s remarks in a public setting were inappropriate. We consider this matter closed, and there will be no further comments from the league office.”
Ford did not make any comments about the officiating following Wednesday night's loss.
On Tuesday night, officiating caused a stir during Bradley's loss to Drake.
Bradley head coach Brian Wardle was hit with a technical foul in response to reacting to a call assessed by veteran referee Randy Heimerman.
“It was a heat of the moment thing,” Wardle said. “We had a lot to overcome in this game. I was proud of how our guys stayed together and how we fought.”
Bradley sophomore Elijah Childs added: “We can’t let it go to the refs’ hands and that’s what we did. We fouled too much and the ball didn’t fall our way.”
Missouri State will remain at home for a Saturday 1 p.m. match-up against Indiana State. Wednesday's loss put the Bears a game behind Loyola and Drake for first place in the MVC.
