[Nevadaref]

I have no doubt that the study is correct. From officiating for almost 20 years, I have spoken to officials who are uncomfortable with a lopsided foul count and seen others who attempt to please the coaches (or just don't want them hollering at them). These are all factors of human interaction and I believe that there is more to it than subconscious action. A large crowd does put pressure on people and it is the rare individual who can call without it having any impact. Watch the mechanics. An "and 1" for the home team is done physically differently from one for the visitors, especially late in the game when the crowd is into a close game. I've seen many officials get caught up in the excitement of a team on a scoring run or in the midst of a comeback and blow a whistle which they would not have under other circumstances.

The only aspect of the study which was somewhat surprising to me was that the team in the lead was more likely to be penalized with a foul call. I can see that in games with a 20+ point lead and certainly at the HS level because officials are definitely less likely to penalize a team getting trounced. I was a bit surprised to see the same concept at work at the NCAA level and would like to see the stats for single-digit leads vs double-digit leads.