Penn State Basketball: Jim Ferry Fined $10,000 for Comments Made after Purdue Game

The Big Ten fined Penn State men’s basketball interim head coach Jim Ferry $10,000 and issued a public reprimand Tuesday afternoon. This is the second fine for a Penn State basketball coach since 2015 when then head coach Pat Chambers was fined for postgame comments made following a home loss to Maryland.

The conference announced in a statement that Ferry violated its Sportsmanship Policy with comments made after the Nittany Lions’ loss to Purdue over the weekend. The head coach was assessed a technical foul during the second half of Sunday’s defeat and discussed it at his postgame presser. 

“I was just fighting for our guys, man. I thought that some of the calls were a little uneven or inconsistent, whatever you want to call it,” Ferry said. “I’ve been coaching for a long time. I wasn’t ranting or raving, I wasn’t cursing. I thought there was a little sensitivity on that.” 

Ferry picked up the technical foul as the Boilermakers went on a lengthy scoring run in the early minutes of the second half. It wasn’t clear on BTN’s broadcast what Ferry said or did to get the foul called.

“The violation is a result Coach Ferry’s postgame actions following the Penn State versus Purdue game on January 17, 2021,” the Big Ten stated. “The fine and reprimand are a result of Conference Agreement 10.01 stating: The Big Ten Conference expects all contests involving a member institution to be conducted without compromise to any fundamental element of sportsmanship.“

Ferry and his squad are still searching for their first Big Ten win. The Nittany Lions will have a chance to do so Tuesday night when they take on No. 22 Illinois at 8:30 p.m. at the State Farm Center. The contest will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.