Penn State Fined $10K for Pat Chambers Criticizing Officiating vs. Maryland

Penn State and head basketball coach Pat Chambers drew the ire of the Big Ten following comments from Chambers about the officials during a game against Maryland on Valentine's Day.     

According to Kami Mattioli of the Sporting News, citing a press release from the Big Ten, Chambers was reprimanded by the conference and the school was fined:

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After his lengthy rant about the quality of officiating in the Penn State - Maryland game on Feb. 14, Penn State head coach Pat Chambers received a public reprimand from the Big Ten on Tuesday morning.

The league also fined Penn State $10,000 for 'violating the Big Ten's Sportsmanship Policy,' it said in a release.

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Following a 76-73 loss, in which a controversial offensive foul was called on Nittany Lions center Jordan Dickerson with less than two minutes to play, Chambers ripped the officials, via Ben Jones of StateCollege.com:

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Pat Chambers' full quote on the Jordan Dickerson offensive foul call/officiating in general. pic.twitter.com/l24PL5bFW2

— Ben Jones (@Ben_Jones88) February 15, 2015"

Chambers' frustration is certainly legitimate based on the play, in which Dickerson was basically pulled down by a Maryland player, but it could also be coming out of frustration with the way his team has played.

The Nittany Lions are only ahead of Northwestern and Rutgers in the Big Ten and have lost four of their last five games to fall to 15-11 overall, likely ending any hopes Chambers had of making the NCAA tournament. They've lost their share of close conference games, going 1-8 in games decided by 10 points or less. 

Chambers will take his public shaming, while the school will be forced to pay the fine, but it's not going to change the irritation he likely feels based on where his team is at with five regular-season games left to play.