Pac-12 stands by official's explanation of Benny Snell's ejection from Music City Bowl

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Pac-12 Conference has issued a response to the controversial decision from the league's officiating crew to eject Kentucky star running back Benny Snell from the Music City Bowl.

"The Conference has no comment and will stand by the postgame statement provided to the pool reporter," a league spokesman said in a statement provided to Courier Journal.

A Pac-12 crew was assigned to officiate the game between Kentucky (Southeastern Conference) and Northwestern (Big Ten Conference).

Snell was ejected in the second quarter of UK's Music City Bowl loss to Northwestern for making contact with an official. The incident occurred after Snell was pushed backward by several Northwestern players for a 7-yard loss. Official Chris Coyte appeared to place his hands on Snell's arms to help him from the ground, but the UK running back pushed them away in frustration.

"I was on top of the play," Coyte told a pool reporter after the game. "And the player got up and grabbed my arms and pushed them away and contacted me. That’s a foul.”

The decision was met with near universal criticism on social media, with celebrities ranging from late-night host Seth Meyers to Kentucky governor Matt Bevin taking to Twitter to blast the call.

Snell told reporters after the game he did not think he had done anything wrong.

"I don’t need help getting up," he said.

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The decision was met with even more ire after Miami coach Mark Richt was not ejected for grabbing an official on the sideline during the Orange Bowl Saturday. Richt later issued an apology for his actions.

Snell tweeted, "Unbelievable," shortly after Richt's incident, and UK coach Mark Stoops retweeted that message.

The NCAA football rule book states, any "persons subject to the rules shall not intentionally contact a game official forcibly during a game." The rule book defines "person subject to the rules" as "everyone in the team area, players, substitutes, replaced players, coaches, athletics trainers, cheerleaders, band members, mascots, public-address announcers, audio and video system operators, and other persons affiliated with the teams or institutions."

A violation of that rule results in a dead-ball foul for unsportsmanlike conduct and "automatic disqualification."

Jon Hale: jahale@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @JonHale_CJ. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/jonh.