MADISON, Wis. – The verdict is in from the altercation between Michigan head coach Juwan Howard and Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard that resulted in a Howard striking a UW assistant, a scrum near center court, and punches between players being thrown.
The Big Ten and the Michigan Athletic Department came down harsh on Howard for his role in Sunday’s post-game scuffle at the Kohl Center, suspending him for the final five games of the regular season and fining him $40,000.
The Big Ten conference announced in a statement that Michigan forwards Terrance Williams II and Moussa Diabate and Wisconsin guard Jahcobi Neath were also in violation of the conference’s sportsmanship for throwing punches after Howard exchanged words with Gard and struck UW assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft in the head. All three were suspended for one game, effective immediately.
Gard was not suspended but fined $10,000. Krabbenhoft was not disciplined by the conference.
“Big Ten Conference coaches and student-athletes are expected to display the highest level of sportsmanship conduct,” Commissioner Kevin Warren said in a statement. “I am grateful for the partnership with Michigan Athletics Director, Warde Manuel and Wisconsin Athletics Director, Chris McIntosh. Our expectation is that the incident yesterday will provide our coaches and student-athletes with the opportunity to reflect, learn and move forward in a manner that demonstrates decorum and leadership on and off of the court.”
Following the Big Ten's statement, McIntosh released his own statement that commended Gard and his staff for trying to de-escalate the situation. He added that UW - not Gard - would be covering the fine.
"Neither Coach Gard nor his staff had any intent to provoke or incite any of what took place," McIntosh said. "Our staff has my complete support, as do our student-athletes. I consider the $10,000 fine to be a "Wisconsin fine" and not a "Greg Gard fine.""
Neath – a reserve guard averaging 1.8 points per game – will serve his suspension Wednesday when No.13 Wisconsin (20-5, 12-4) plays at Minnesota.
Per the Big Ten Sportsmanship Policy, the conference was limited to a maximum of two games and a $10,000 fine. Going beyond those penalties would have required approval from the Joint Group Executive Committee. The statement said Michigan Athletic Director Warde Manuel and the conference came to an agreement on the additional games.
Sunday’s incident stemmed from Howard’s anger at Gard calling a timeout with 15 seconds left with Wisconsin leading 76-61. Michigan was in a five-pressure man-to-man defense – “it wasn’t a press,” Howard said – with Wisconsin having five seldom-used reserved on the court.
After the Wolverines knocked the ball out of bounds, Gard said he was informed by the officiating crew that calling a timeout would give his offense a fresh 10 seconds to advance the ball over midcourt. Had no timeout been called, UW would have had four seconds to advance the ball. Howard spent the timeout staring down Wisconsin’s huddle.
“I was not going to put them in a position, when the ball had already got knocked out of bounds, to have to break a press in four seconds when they're coming cold off the bench,” Gard said. "So, I took a timeout, which I'm allowed to do obviously, and brought them over and try to get them organized. They haven't all been on the floor in pressure situations before, and I want to give them the best chance to have success coming up the floor.”
At the conclusion of the game, Howard waited before joining the postgame handshake line and intended to not shake Gard’s hand. Instead, Howard said “I’ll remember that” as he passed by Gard’s outstretched hand. That caused Gard to grab Howard’s elbow and move in front of him to try and explain his actions. Feeling he needed to “defend himself” after being touched, Howard grabbed Gard’s pullover while pointing his finger into the UW coach’s face.
The two coaches were quickly separated by Michigan’s players and UW’s support staff, including assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft, who appeared to say something in the direction of Howard. Continuing jawing at Gard from across the scrum, Howard reached between two people to strike Krabbenhoft in the face with his right hand.
That caused both teams to start a pushing and shoving match, which included Neath, Williams, and Diabate exchanging punches in front of the Michigan bench.
“There's no room, there's no space for conduct like that in any competition, much less Big Ten competition," Wisconsin Athletic Director Chris McIntosh said. “The Big Ten takes pride in sportsmanship. The Big Ten takes pride in acting with class, and that didn't happen today. It's unfortunate what transpired.”
Wisconsin and Michigan are not scheduled to play again in the regular season.
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