Reffing women's basketball

[womens_hoops]

Hi all, I'm a frequent lurker but only occasional poster. I also run a website for women's basketball. I have a question about reffing in the women's games generally, and wondering if you all have any thoughts.

I'm wondering if there's a disparity between men's and women's basketball refs, and if so, what the cause is.

When I watch men's hoops (D1 and the NBA), I'm almost always impressed with the high-quality officiating. It's a treat to watch guys like Dick Bavetta and Danny Crawford do their job.

When I watch women's hoops... well, I don't get quite the same feeling. Obviously, there are great refs on our side too, and the quality is pretty good, etc. etc... but it seems like it's not as good as on the men's side.

I don't really mean this to be a political question, like women get unfair treatment, and so on. I'm just wondering what the differences are between the two reffing pools.

I remember someone saying something here awhile ago about how it's much easier to get a job reffing women's college than it is to get a job on the men's side. Is that true?

Do refs on the women's side generally have less experience? Does reffing women pay less? Is it just considered less prestigious? Is the NCAA too focused on hiring female refs, and bypassing more qualified male candidates?

I hesitate to ask this for fear that I might offend, and if you think I'm crazy, just say so. But I mean this as a serious question, and it seems like you guys are more likely to know the answer than anyone else.