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I have contracts for all my games for this season, next season, and for a fair number of games in 2012-13. They specify how much we will be paid for those games and I have the choice whether to sign them or not sign them.
I worry what would happen here if schools and conferences would try to cut pay for officials. I think many officials would buy the party line of "the schools have no money" and would work for considerably less money. With no real organized associations (we have associations, but membership is voluntary and is only for training and networking purposes) the games would go on.
I was an assignor for an adult baseball league with 44 teams and a lot of attitude. The umpires were underpaid and took way too much abuse. When I tried to bridge the gap between the league and the assignors and get a fair raise for the umpires, I had *umpires* tell me to back off. Mainly cause they were the ones that had been around forever and were buddies with the teams and their management.
Me? I could work for $31, I guess, but I won't. I have told the occasional AD that I'd be willing to cut my pay from $60 to $45 to $50 for 2-3 years if there was a real effort to transition to 3-person officiating across the board. That would cut some of the effect on the schools while they try to figure out how to raise the additional funds down the road. Some have thought this was a good idea, but they're in the minority -- they're happy having to only pay 2 officials.
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