Chatter about officials rising along with stakes
Oct. 2, 2002
By Dennis Dodd
SportsLine.com Senior Writer
TellDennis your opinion!
National feature | Notebook
It seemingly happens every week now. Officiating gaffes -- or at least the perception of an officials' screw-up -- have become a sidebar to the 2002 season.
The latest headline came from the Big Ten office Wednesday morning. The conference made what is believed to be an unprecedented move in removing officials in midseason. The league "deleted future assignments" of four officials who worked the Sept. 21 Wake Forest-Purdue game. Purdue complained about several calls after the 24-21 loss.
Not typically known for berating officials, Joe Paterno went and grabbed one after Saturday's game.(AP)
When Joe Paterno starts chasing officials into the tunnel, then something, somewhere is going on. JoePa ran a nice 4.5, 40-yard dash after Saturday's overtime loss to Iowa to complain to Big Ten referee Dick Honig about two calls late in the game. Paterno put a hand on Honig's shoulder, spun him around and yelled at him.
"I'm not often very critical of officials," Paterno said. "Most of the time when they're in position and they make a bang-bang call, they make it. If they're loafing, they're not in shape, late in getting there or making a call they shouldn't make, then I grade them."
Even in addressing the act itself, Big Ten officials might have booted one. Paterno was not penalized by the league for laying hands on Honig. Supervisor of officials Dave Parry said there was nothing "vicious or hateful" in Paterno's actions. That might have been more of a sign of reverence for Paterno than fairly reprimanding a coach.
"Maybe if some others of us had done the same thing, we may have been open for a lot more criticism," Minnesota coach Glen Mason said.
One of the easiest things to do for coaches is to question the quality of officiating. It's an excuse for losing. Think: How many times have you heard winning coaches complain about officiating?
But is there a deeper meaning why coaches are so demonstrative this year in questioning officiating in the first place?
"It impacts recruiting and everything," said Jack Stark, in his 15th year as Nebraska's team psychologist. "They talk about $10 million impact on a local economy for a home game. Whoa! It's like us. We lose to Iowa State and the (perception of the) program is dead and downhill based on one game. You add that up."
Officials are reviewed on a weekly basis, but that's where the similarities end from one conference to another. The Pac-10 allows officials to work games of their alma maters. The SEC and Big East do not. The Rose Bowl crew included a back judge from the Miami area who was paid through the Big East to work Miami practices and scrimmages.
"We knew that," Stark said. "We weren't happy with that."
It should be noted the NCAA, which is responsible for assigning officials to bowl games, knew it, too, and signed off on it.
Until last year, the game clock at Big Ten games was run by a person from the host school. Then there was a controversial finish at Michigan State and the league hired 11 new timekeepers.
Twelve years ago, J.C. Louderback was head of the Big 8 crew that allowed Colorado a fifth down against Missouri. Louderback and his crew were suspended. The next year, the conference let him go, citing an age limit. Louderback never officiated at that level again.
Try to get rid of an official because of his age these days and you're likely to be slapped with a lawsuit. Age discrimination is against the law. The SEC puts its officials through a series of physical drills each year to weed out the slow and old.
Two years ago, the Big Ten was forced to apologize after a series of missed calls allowed Michigan to win at Illinois. Big Ten supervisor of officials Dave Parry hastened to point out that a winning Big Ten coach entered the officials dressing room Saturday to compliment them on their job after the game. It was against protocol, but it was nice, Parry said.
"Our coaches call me every Monday," Parry said. "Generally, they're very civil and very polite. To say the climate has become a lot hotter, I don't think is true."
Stark disagrees, saying everything about the game has turned up the heat on both coaches and officials. Parity has created a more competitive game. Last year, the Bowl Championship Series has created a national title game decided by .05 of a point.
"When I interviewed with Tom Osborne, I said, 'I think I can make a five percent difference with your team,'" Stark said. "I'll never forget this. He looked at me and said, 'Jack, five percent is huge. That's the difference in a national championship.'"
All that pressure has to go somewhere, whether it is a coach venting on officials or officials subconsciously venting on coaches.
"We have more scrutiny of officials, ability to have instant replay," Stark said. "I don't think it's as much fun for officials. I've seen kind of a pattern sometimes where a referee if they have had a bad experience with a school or a coach. Subconsciously, in a split second, they're human."
Utah coach Ron McBride said some officials simply aren't objective.
"Sometimes a certain official shows up and these guys aren't going to give you a fair break," McBride said. "If a call is going to be made, it's not going to go your way."
That's part of the coaches' argument. When 100,000 people see a call is wrong, there is no way to change it in college football.
"When you think about what's at stake in the Big Ten Conference, it's not much different than the NFL," Mason said. "I think it's a crime that we don't have the same luxury that they have. I think we owe it to our players."
A few sources this week suggested the stakes have gotten too high to trust the game with simple humans.
"I understood exactly how Joe felt," Texas coach Mack Brown said. "I'm just not in as good of shape.
"We should really look at what the NFL is doing with instant replay. It's very, very difficult for the officials not to miss some calls as fast as the games have gotten."
East Carolina coach Steve Logan won't go on the road with SEC officials because of a game at Alabama four years ago.
"It embarrassed their program and their officials," Logan said. "It was such a sad situation that took us out of a football game. We got beat 23-22. I came home and met with the people that matter here. Never, never, never again would we expose our program to those types of things, and we haven't."
"Working" the officials has become a fine art. That was once the exclusive property of basketball coaches. More and more football coaches will take time to plant a seed in the mind of the referee.
"One of the best I know is Tom Osborne," Miami coach Larry Coker said. "He didn't really work the officials, but when he questioned the call they knew that he knew the rules. Most coaches, they kind of know the rules, but they really don't. I don't put a big premium on working officials. Maybe I should."
McBride still hasn't backed down from statements that officials missed a sure touchdown catch by one of his receivers against Arizona. McBride later criticized the practice of allowing an official with a degree from the University of Arizona to do the game.
"It was very difficult for me after the Arizona game not to go after one of those guys," McBride said. "You don't have the right to take a game away from somebody. I don't know what Paterno's deal was but sometimes you get very upset about the officiating."
"You cannot lose a football game because somebody made a bad judgment. That's why instant replay might be something that we need. That way the guy doesn't have a chance. If he makes a bad call, it can be overruled."
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Four Big Ten officials punished for poor performance
Paterno not punished for grabbing official after game
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MVP.com
Oct. 2, 2002
By Dennis Dodd
SportsLine.com Senior Writer
TellDennis your opinion!
National feature | Notebook
It seemingly happens every week now. Officiating gaffes -- or at least the perception of an officials' screw-up -- have become a sidebar to the 2002 season.
The latest headline came from the Big Ten office Wednesday morning. The conference made what is believed to be an unprecedented move in removing officials in midseason. The league "deleted future assignments" of four officials who worked the Sept. 21 Wake Forest-Purdue game. Purdue complained about several calls after the 24-21 loss.
Not typically known for berating officials, Joe Paterno went and grabbed one after Saturday's game.(AP)
When Joe Paterno starts chasing officials into the tunnel, then something, somewhere is going on. JoePa ran a nice 4.5, 40-yard dash after Saturday's overtime loss to Iowa to complain to Big Ten referee Dick Honig about two calls late in the game. Paterno put a hand on Honig's shoulder, spun him around and yelled at him.
"I'm not often very critical of officials," Paterno said. "Most of the time when they're in position and they make a bang-bang call, they make it. If they're loafing, they're not in shape, late in getting there or making a call they shouldn't make, then I grade them."
Even in addressing the act itself, Big Ten officials might have booted one. Paterno was not penalized by the league for laying hands on Honig. Supervisor of officials Dave Parry said there was nothing "vicious or hateful" in Paterno's actions. That might have been more of a sign of reverence for Paterno than fairly reprimanding a coach.
"Maybe if some others of us had done the same thing, we may have been open for a lot more criticism," Minnesota coach Glen Mason said.
One of the easiest things to do for coaches is to question the quality of officiating. It's an excuse for losing. Think: How many times have you heard winning coaches complain about officiating?
But is there a deeper meaning why coaches are so demonstrative this year in questioning officiating in the first place?
"It impacts recruiting and everything," said Jack Stark, in his 15th year as Nebraska's team psychologist. "They talk about $10 million impact on a local economy for a home game. Whoa! It's like us. We lose to Iowa State and the (perception of the) program is dead and downhill based on one game. You add that up."
Officials are reviewed on a weekly basis, but that's where the similarities end from one conference to another. The Pac-10 allows officials to work games of their alma maters. The SEC and Big East do not. The Rose Bowl crew included a back judge from the Miami area who was paid through the Big East to work Miami practices and scrimmages.
"We knew that," Stark said. "We weren't happy with that."
It should be noted the NCAA, which is responsible for assigning officials to bowl games, knew it, too, and signed off on it.
Until last year, the game clock at Big Ten games was run by a person from the host school. Then there was a controversial finish at Michigan State and the league hired 11 new timekeepers.
Twelve years ago, J.C. Louderback was head of the Big 8 crew that allowed Colorado a fifth down against Missouri. Louderback and his crew were suspended. The next year, the conference let him go, citing an age limit. Louderback never officiated at that level again.
Try to get rid of an official because of his age these days and you're likely to be slapped with a lawsuit. Age discrimination is against the law. The SEC puts its officials through a series of physical drills each year to weed out the slow and old.
Two years ago, the Big Ten was forced to apologize after a series of missed calls allowed Michigan to win at Illinois. Big Ten supervisor of officials Dave Parry hastened to point out that a winning Big Ten coach entered the officials dressing room Saturday to compliment them on their job after the game. It was against protocol, but it was nice, Parry said.
"Our coaches call me every Monday," Parry said. "Generally, they're very civil and very polite. To say the climate has become a lot hotter, I don't think is true."
Stark disagrees, saying everything about the game has turned up the heat on both coaches and officials. Parity has created a more competitive game. Last year, the Bowl Championship Series has created a national title game decided by .05 of a point.
"When I interviewed with Tom Osborne, I said, 'I think I can make a five percent difference with your team,'" Stark said. "I'll never forget this. He looked at me and said, 'Jack, five percent is huge. That's the difference in a national championship.'"
All that pressure has to go somewhere, whether it is a coach venting on officials or officials subconsciously venting on coaches.
"We have more scrutiny of officials, ability to have instant replay," Stark said. "I don't think it's as much fun for officials. I've seen kind of a pattern sometimes where a referee if they have had a bad experience with a school or a coach. Subconsciously, in a split second, they're human."
Utah coach Ron McBride said some officials simply aren't objective.
"Sometimes a certain official shows up and these guys aren't going to give you a fair break," McBride said. "If a call is going to be made, it's not going to go your way."
That's part of the coaches' argument. When 100,000 people see a call is wrong, there is no way to change it in college football.
"When you think about what's at stake in the Big Ten Conference, it's not much different than the NFL," Mason said. "I think it's a crime that we don't have the same luxury that they have. I think we owe it to our players."
A few sources this week suggested the stakes have gotten too high to trust the game with simple humans.
"I understood exactly how Joe felt," Texas coach Mack Brown said. "I'm just not in as good of shape.
"We should really look at what the NFL is doing with instant replay. It's very, very difficult for the officials not to miss some calls as fast as the games have gotten."
East Carolina coach Steve Logan won't go on the road with SEC officials because of a game at Alabama four years ago.
"It embarrassed their program and their officials," Logan said. "It was such a sad situation that took us out of a football game. We got beat 23-22. I came home and met with the people that matter here. Never, never, never again would we expose our program to those types of things, and we haven't."
"Working" the officials has become a fine art. That was once the exclusive property of basketball coaches. More and more football coaches will take time to plant a seed in the mind of the referee.
"One of the best I know is Tom Osborne," Miami coach Larry Coker said. "He didn't really work the officials, but when he questioned the call they knew that he knew the rules. Most coaches, they kind of know the rules, but they really don't. I don't put a big premium on working officials. Maybe I should."
McBride still hasn't backed down from statements that officials missed a sure touchdown catch by one of his receivers against Arizona. McBride later criticized the practice of allowing an official with a degree from the University of Arizona to do the game.
"It was very difficult for me after the Arizona game not to go after one of those guys," McBride said. "You don't have the right to take a game away from somebody. I don't know what Paterno's deal was but sometimes you get very upset about the officiating."
"You cannot lose a football game because somebody made a bad judgment. That's why instant replay might be something that we need. That way the guy doesn't have a chance. If he makes a bad call, it can be overruled."
E-Mail To A Friend!
Related Links
Four Big Ten officials punished for poor performance
Paterno not punished for grabbing official after game
Headlines
BCS to count ND's Kickoff victory Darling's parents sue Florida State Georgia D prepares for rushing Tide Buckeyes' Clarett uneasy about flying Collins returns to Cornhuskers Holiday's status up in air for Irish
More News
S H O P P I N G
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