Ed Rush resigns as Pac-12 basketball coordinator of officials

Wow, that didn’t take long.

Ed Rush, the Pac-12 Conference’s embattled coordinator of officials for men’s basketball, resigned Thursday only two days after he received a vote of confidence from Commissioner Larry Scott.

Rush, however, couldn’t overcome a torrent of negative publicity stemming from the story that he offered $5,000 or a trip to Cancun to any official who ejected, or called a technical foul, on Arizona Coach Sean Miller during last month’s conference tournament in Las Vegas.

The league investigated the incident and Scott released a statement this week saying the comments were made in jest and the actions did not warrant Rush’s firing.

Most doubted, however, that Rush could continue in his role.

In accepting Rush’s resignation, Scott said, “I want to express my appreciation for the great contribution Ed made to basketball officiating for the conference during his tenure, particularly in the area of training and the cultivation of new officiating talent. All of us at the conference thank him for his years of hard work, and we wish him well.”

Rush, 72, spent 32 years as an NBA referee and had been a consultant with the Pac 10/12 since 2007. Last May he was named coordinator of men’s basketball officiating.

“I would like to thank the Pac-12 for giving me the opportunity to lead a group of officials who are working so hard to make the Pac-12 the best officiated conference in college basketball,” Rush said in a statement.

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