Earlier this week, we shared the story of Miami (Ohio) drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for flashing images of goalposts on the Yager Stadium video board during an Ohio field goal try.
On Thursday, RedHawks head coach Chuck Martin got his chance to weigh in, and it's safe to say the former kicker isn't buying it.
“Like, there’s zero percent chance that’s a distraction. Zero percent,” Martin told reporters on November 12.
“Like, who cares what they put on the videoboard?”
A quick refresher on the sequence. Ohio led 17-7 with seconds left in the first half when Bobcats kicker Brack Peacock lined up for a 34-yarder. Goalposts appeared on the board, Peacock hit the upright, and the officials flagged Miami for unsportsmanlike conduct. Half the distance and an automatic first down put Ohio in first-and-goal inside the 10. The Bobcats ran a fake, the pass fell incomplete, and Miami went on to outscore Ohio 27-0 after halftime in a 34-17 win.
Martin said the flag didn’t come right away, which added to the confusion on his sideline.
“It was so weird, because he missed the kick,” Martin said. “There was no flag. We huddled up. We sent our offense out.”
Martin added that officials stood around for roughly two minutes before a flag was dropped, and Martin assumed it was for something between players after the play. He said he didn’t know a rule like this existed.
“In my wildest dream, did I think we’d be getting an unsportsmanlike conduct on something we put on a video board?” he said.
Martin also took a shot at the graphic itself, comparing it to stick figures a kid would draw. Then he pivoted to Miami basketball, where students in tiny Speedos have become a fixture near the court trying to distract opponents at the free throw line.
“It’s uncomfortable that someone would come to a game and do that,” he said. His point being that if anything in Oxford is distracting, it isn’t a cartoon goalpost on a video board.
While Martin is clearly against the penalty, the rule is on the books, whether Martin knew about it or not. NCAA Rule 1-1-6 says persons subject to the rules, “including bands and audio/video/lighting systems operators, shall not create any noise or distraction.”
Video board operators were written into the rule after Oklahoma State put yellow lines on its board during a Texas field goal attempt in 2020.
Martin is probably right that no kicker at this level misses a 34-yard kick because of a graphic on the board. But the rule doesn’t ask whether it worked. It asks whether you tried, and putting uprights on the board during a field goal is hard to explain as anything other than trying.
The two-minute delay is a fair gripe. If it’s a penalty, then throw it when you see it.
The win moved the RedHawks to 6-4 and 4-2 in the MAC.
Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.
I got to ask Miami head coach Chuck Martin about the now infamous scoreboard operator penalty on Tuesday. His response was a must-watch rant: @SickosCommittee @MiamiRedHawks pic.twitter.com/yTIQzh5ac1
— Chase Souder (@CSouderSports) November 12, 2026