SEC officials

[HogFan]

Does anyone know who governs the SEC officiating crews? Better yet, does anyone have an email address to those in charge?

I have a few questions I would like to ask.

[Mark Dexter]

If any of us did have that info, I doubt we would pass it along.

[BktBallRef]

Personally, I don't think the Supervisor of Officials for the ACC/SEC cares what most fans think.

But if you have calm, rational questions that you would like answered, then feel free to ask them here.

If you're just some fan who wants to vent, find yourself a fan discussion forum somewhere and have fun.

[HogFan]

I'm just wondering if their performance in each game is reviewed?

It seems to me this year there is a rash of what I call the "anticipation foul".

They also seem to really be missing blocking and charging calls this year for some reason and I was wondering if this was from being out of position or for some other reason.

[Mark Dexter]

Originally posted by HogFan
I'm just wondering if their performance in each game is reviewed?

Yes.

They also seem to really be missing blocking and charging calls this year for some reason and I was wondering if this was from being out of position or for some other reason.

Is this just your opinion, or do you have rules/approved rulings to back this up?

[HogFan]

I wouldnt say that I had rulings to back this up, but I would say that I had the consensus of SEC fans in mind when I say this. Ive heard it from a lot of people from a lot of different schools.

[BktBallRef]

As two of the top conferences in college basketball, I can assure your that their games are reviewed and that they are constantly in touch with the supervisor of officials. I haven't seen anything in the ACC games that would lead me to believe that there's been any letdown is officiating. But I watch the game as a fan and an official.

I would suggest that you ignore the "talking heads" on TV. 99% don't have a basic understanding of the rules or any of the philsophies associated with them. They're just paid to talk. Also, what you see on TV is not always the same as what the official sees from 5 feet away. These guys don't get to the premiere basketball conferences in college basketball by being out of position or anticipating a call. Do they miss some? Sure they do. But not as often as the fans think.

Originally posted by HogFan
I wouldnt say that I had rulings to back this up, but I would say that I had the consensus of SEC fans in mind when I say this. Ive heard it from a lot of people from a lot of different schools.

And where do fans learn about officiating? Most from the knuckleheads on TV.

Does watching a gourmet cook prepare a meal make one a chef? No.

Does watchong an architect design a building make one an architect? No.

Does watching basketball on TV make one an officiating expert? No.

You'll enjoy the game more if you focus on the players and the game and not worry about whether an official got a call correct or not.

Good luck to the Hogs!

[JRutledge]

Originally posted by HogFan
I wouldnt say that I had rulings to back this up, but I would say that I had the consensus of SEC fans in mind when I say this. Ive heard it from a lot of people from a lot of different schools.

For your information, every big conference that I know the officials every single game, every single call or "no call" is reviewed. If they make mistakes they are usually downgraded, and a few are not asked back depending on their performance. And depending on the mistake, the officials are fined depending on what goes down.

The consensus of the fans means nothing. I officiate HS, and fans think that "over the back" is a foul of some kind. It might open some eyes of individuals if they understood that it would be hard to be critical of an official much like it would be difficult to be critical of a doctor if you have not gone thru the training or education to know what is being done right or wrong. I would assume that fans like yourself only look at what goes wrong with your team, not what goes wrong with your opponents. So what fans thinks is rather unimportant. The officials goes thru much more review than you could ever imagine and believe me, you probably do not understand enough of the rules to even have an intelligent thought toward the quality of officials in the first place.

Peace

[HogFan]

How could you make a statement like this?

The officials goes thru much more review than you could ever imagine and believe me, you probably do not understand enough of the rules to even have an intelligent thought toward the quality of officials in the first place.

You have no idea how much expierience I have had with basketball. Playing or watching. You are right. I have never officiated a basketball game. Does that make me unintelligent as to the rules and the quality of officiating? I really do not think so.

Also, I acknowledge when I think our team got a break. Wether it was a call that could of went the other way or a no call.

I really do not need to go through training as long as I know the rules. I can evaluate if the calls are being made correctly.

So what fans thinks is rather unimportant

I totally disagree with this. Maybe their comments are unimportant, but fans deserve the best product that can be put on the floor.

[mick]

Originally posted by HogFan
I'm just wondering if their performance in each game is reviewed?

It seems to me this year there is a rash of what I call the "anticipation foul".

They also seem to really be missing blocking and charging calls this year for some reason and I was wondering if this was from being out of position or for some other reason.

HogFan,
Try checking the link below for some of the directives that
NCAA officials are given. There is an attempt to clean up the game and it seems to be more prevalent as you move up through the ranks from DIII to DII to DI.

http://www.ncaa.org/champadmin/baske...ing_bulletins/

mick

[BktBallRef]

Originally posted by HogFan
I really do not need to go through training as long as I know the rules. I can evaluate if the calls are being made correctly.

That's just the point HogFan. Although J.Rut doesn't use very much tact, he's correct that 99% of the fans don't know the intricacies of the rules. That includes a majority portion who think that they do. They gain their rules knowledge from playing the game, wathcing on TV and they learn from a coach. I hate to tells you this but none of those ways are very quality ways to gain a rule education.

Why? Players know how to play but they don't know the rules. TV announcers don't know Bo Didley, much less the rules. Coaches know strategy, not rules.

I'm sorry but it's that simple.

[crew]

most games(conference) in d1 are reviewed 1 way or another. whether it be by an observer at the game, by the supervisor when requested by an angry coach, or by the officials themselves. i sadly say that most higher level d1 officials do not review much tape(personal opinion), and do not get fined for missing rules. i had a friend who worked a d1 game as the u2 and the ref missed 3 rules in the game. the u2 came to him to offer knowledge and it was refused. after the game the rules were looked up in the book and the u2 was correct. the ref never called in a game report never tried to get the game and was not fined for the incident.

[Brad]

Originally posted by HogFan
You have no idea how much expierience I have had with basketball. Playing or watching. You are right. I have never officiated a basketball game. Does that make me unintelligent as to the rules and the quality of officiating? I really do not think so.

If you read a driving manual, but had never driven a car, would you consider yourself a good driver -- or a good evaluator of other drivers? Of course not.

It follows that it is difficult for those who have never officiated to be able to evaluate the officiating in a certain game.

The rules address the block/charge play in a few simple paragraphs, but no block/charge is the same. It takes experience and understanding of the game to know what the correct call is.

Also, officials do not have the benefit of replays -- they have to make the call or not make it in real time, with no "do overs".

If you are interested, please check out http://start.officiating.com and think about officiating a few games -- I'm sure that we'd like to hear about your experiences.

[JRutledge]

Originally posted by HogFan
How could you make a statement like this?

You have no idea how much expierience I have had with basketball. Playing or watching. You are right. I have never officiated a basketball game. Does that make me unintelligent as to the rules and the quality of officiating? I really do not think so.

Also, I acknowledge when I think our team got a break. Wether it was a call that could of went the other way or a no call.

I can make the statement because of how you came on this board. It is obvious that you do not understand the first thing about what officials know or what and how they are evaluated. If you did, you would not be trying to even talk to the evaluators of any official of any conference. Because that would be a near impossiblity that he or she would even care what you said, and they would not be doing it from an individual that did not know a thing about what they are talking about. This is not necessarily directed at you, but you are not a coach, a player or an administrator that has anything credible to say or to offer.

You are right, I do not know your experience or know how long you have played. But the reality is that is not a good determiner at all. I have been officating for 6 years and this is my first year of college. Before that there was many things about the rules that I did not understand until I became an official. And I like you, watched commentators talk about how officials were not in position and using terminology that is nowhere in the rule book. "Over the back," and "Reach" come to mind. And philosopies of what officials call and do not call are coming from these genuiuses almost as hilarious as you thinking that YOUR experience makes you and expert on how good or bad officials in the SEC or any other conference for that matter are. Not trying to be funny, unless you can tell me where the definition section is in the NCAA Rulebook are and how many rules are in the NCAA Rulebook, I can pretty much stand on what I originally said. I am sure that if you cannot answer those basic questions for me or anyone else, you do nothing but prove what I have already suggested. No offense, I was just as ignit before I became an official about the rules as you appear to be right now.

So what fans thinks is rather unimportant

I totally disagree with this. Maybe their comments are unimportant, but fans deserve the best product that can be put on the floor.

You are completely incorrect. The game is for the kids first, the coaches second and the school third. It is still an scholastic endeavor not supposed to be for the fans. The game is for the players, and even they do not understand the rules the way officials do. When individuals think things like "moving screens" and the "feet must be set" for a Player-Control Foul. Oh, I am sorry, I should have said to get a "charge" so you can understand me more clearly. But I would be talking like a fan then, not an official.

Peace



[Edited by JRutledge on Jan 13th, 2002 at 09:59 PM]

[ReadyToRef]

HogFan,

I used to coach basketball and really enjoyed watching it on TV and in person. I would often criticize the officials and think that I knew the rules better than them. This is my first year being a ref and it has totally changed my ideas about refs and calling games. The rules are simple to read but the philosophy of calling the game is what most fans and coaches don't get. I have to agree with JRutledge and the others on this. Enjoy the game as a fan. I watch games now and watch the officials mostly. They do a great job. Of course, you may think they missed a call but you can never know if they really did. They may have passed on that call for some philosophical reason. I agree with Brad. If you want to evaluate officials, you need to learn how to officiate and no, you can't learn that from reading the rules or watching games on TV.