Cincinnati athletic director Mike Bohn said Sunday that coach Tommy Tuberville was in a "no-win situation" on Saturday when he responded to a fan's heckling by yelling into the stands.
As Tuberville walked into the tunnel following the Bearcats' 20-3 home loss to BYU, a frustrated fan yelled:"Hey Tommy, you're stealing. You're stealing from this university. You're stealing, Tommy!"
Tuberville reacted by yelling: "Hey, go to hell. Get a job! Get a job!"
The loss dropped Cincinnati to 4-5 on the season.
"Coach Tuberville was put in a no-win situation in front of his team last night which resulted in an out of character response from him," Bohn said in the statement.
"He expressed frustrations from an emotional game. Our team, led by our seniors, is fully engaged with coach and his staff to fight to the finish."
Tuberville, 62, received a two-year extension from Cincinnati earlier this year that puts him under contract with the school through 2019. He has a 29-19 record at Cincinnati and the Bearcats have made a bowl game in each of his first three seasons (losing all three).