COLLEGE FOOTBALL OFFICIATING, LLC
CFO COORDINATORS SUMMER MEETING
San Antonio, June 4-5, 2012
Summary
The annual summer meeting of the College Football Officiating (CFO) Coordinators
was held June 4-5, 2012, in San Antonio. Walt Anderson (Big 12) and Gerald Austin
(Conference-USA) organized and served as hosts for the meeting. The Big 12 provided
staff support. The coordinators express their appreciation to both conferences for an
excellent setting and outstanding arrangements.
All Division I coordinators were in attendance and were joined by:
Ty Halpin (NCAA), CFO Administrator
Dave Yeast (Arbiter Sports)
Jim Keogh, recipient of the David M. Parry Award
In addition, Forhad Razzaque and Jim Murphy (Sutton Associates) made a
presentation to the meeting.
NCAA Update: Background Check Program
Ty Halpin (NCAA) introduced Forhad Razzaque and Jim Murphy from Sutton
Associates, the firm awarded the bid for administering the background check program
for CFO officials. An extensive discussion of the details of the program helped answer a
number of questions from the coordinators. The CFO Board of Managers voted that all
officials affiliated with FBS conferences, either on the officiating staff or as supplemental
officials, must have a background check. FCS officials who are considered for an NCAA
Championship assignment will also be required to have a background check. THE
CFO/Arbiter web site will have a direct link to Sutton Associates to enable officials to
complete the questionnaire. Conferences are free to augment the CFO background
check with additional items for inquiry, and they will make final decisions about the
suitability of their officials to officiate as a result of the checks.
Rules changes for 2012
Rogers Redding (National Coordinator and Secretary-Rules Editor) led a
discussion of the rule changes for 2012, reminding the group that only changes that
directly relate to player safety are allowable in this the off-year of the two-year rules
process. The question was raised about the Referee making announcement when a
player leaves the game for the helmet coming off. The decision is not to make the
announcement and to re-visit the issue during the first coordinators’ conference call
after the start of the season.
Other issues related to the helmet rule:
 If the helmet comes off on a play that ends near the line to gain and there is a
measurement for the first down, the 10-second runoff will apply only if the
measurement does not result in a first down, because the helmet coming off is
the only action through play that causes the clock to stop.
 If a player’s helmet comes off and he quickly puts it back on he may not continue
to participate in the play. This is a change from an earlier interpretation and will
be communicated in the next Play Situations Bulletin.
 Regarding the issue of a player who loses his helmet being allowed to participate
only when continuing the “immediate action,” there will be no change in the
statement of the rule. Officials will judge “immediate action” as they now do in
other situations.
 The foul code for the personal foul by a player who continues to participate after
losing his helmet will be PFH.
The coordinators agreed that in officiating the new rule for kicking team players
leaping the shield on a punt, the Referee will have primary responsibility, with
secondary responsibility falling to the Line Judge.
Redding noted that Play Situations Bulletins pertaining to the rules changes will
be released before the beginning of the season.
David M. Parry Award
Jim Keogh was introduced as the first recipient of the David M. Parry award,
presented to the coordinator who best represents the values and standards that Dave
exhibited. Keogh was a long-time official in the Big Ten and recently retired after many
years as a coordinator for several Division III conferences. He was presented the award
at the dinner that evening where he was accompanied by his wife June and several
members of his family.
Instant Replay
Bill Carollo (Big Ten and Mid-American Conference), chair of the Instant Replay
(IR) Committee led the group in a discussion centered around a review of the national IR
clinic held in Chicago the last weekend in May. The clinic for the first time included the
Referees of the conferences that use IR in regular-season games. Feedback from that
clinic continues to be very positive. Other highlights of the discussion:
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The importance of the on-field officials to be knowledgeable and involved in IR
continues to be an important topic.
The new national IR casebook is now on the CFO/Arbiter website and will be
included on print form as a part of the CFO Welcome Package to be mailed in
mid-June for CFO new and renewing members. Carollo reminded the
coordinators that this is the only official casebook. Redding thanked Carollo and
the IR committee members, Walt Anderson (Big 12) and Jim Blackwood (Western
Athletic Conference) for their fine work on the casebook.
Instant Replay mechanics are being developed and will be included in the CCA
national mechanics manual in 2013.
Consistent with other rules applications areas, during the game the Referee has
final authority for rules interpretations.
The 2013 Instant Replay Clinic will include IR officials and FBS Referees as
mandatory attendees, with Communicators and Referees from other divisions
attending at their option.
2013 IR clinic tentative dates: June 28-28, 2013 (subject to hotel availability).
Technology Update
Technology Committee chair Jim Jackson (Ohio Valley Conference) reviewed the
content calendar that has been posted to the web site. Redding asked that coordinators
preparing single-topic videos for the web site have them to him for review at least one
week before the posting date.
Dave Yeast (Arbiter) briefed the group on various technology advances for the
web site. An important advance is that officials will now be able to view the videos on
the iPad.
Mechanics Committee
Committee chair Steve Shaw (Southeastern Conference) briefed the group on
the CCA mechanics manual which has been completely rewritten. The coordinators
expressed appreciation to the committee for its work in creating this document. There
is clear agreement that all conferences will abide by this document as the single
guideline for college officiating mechanics, an important step in achieving consistency in
officiating across the country.
Intra-Crew Communication System
Shaw reported on the SEC and Big Ten experiment in using an electronic voice
communication system during some spring games. The system equips each official on
the field with a microphone and earphones to allow crew members to talk to each
other. A good discussion of the pros and cons of such a system followed. Several
coordinators are interested in experimenting with the system in conference games.
Current rules allow only the Referee to use a microphone; a conference wishing to use
the system in regular-season games would need to seek a waiver from the NCAA rules
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committee. Other issues to be resolved include the cost of the system and whether to
experiment in conference or non-conference games.
Recruiting of Officials
Halpin thanked the coordinators for their input regarding their activities around
recruiting of minority officials. A summary of this input will be available shortly. Points
made in the discussion include:
 Recruiting officials for Division I is not generally an issue, but it is becoming a
problem for Divisions II and III in particular.
 Coordinators and coaches should encourage student-athletes to think about
getting into officiating after their playing days.
 Recruiting minority officials should continue to be a focus, taking into account
appropriate geographic considerations.
 The web site would be a good place to list camps and clinics so that prospective
officials can be guided to participate.
Redding will appoint a recruiting committee that will recommend ways that the
CFO can be involved in recruiting, particularly minority officials.
Transfer of Officials Between Conferences
The coordinators engaged in dialog about officials who want to move from one
conference to another. As conferences continue to experience changes in membership,
officials will want to explore their options. The group reiterated its commitment to work
together so that there is full transparency when an official is seeking to move from one
conference to another.
Bowl Assignments
Redding has been asked by the NCAA Football Issues Committee to craft a
method for assigning bowl games to conferences. While there is no formal system in
place recent practice has been to assign each FBS conference at least one and no more
than four games. The number of games has to some extent been a reflection of the
number of teams that conference had in bowl games the previous year. The group
discussed the possibility of using as a guideline one-half crew per conference team in a
bowl the previous year, with the national coordinator retaining the flexibility to make
adjustments over a few years.
Future Meetings
CFO Coordinators 2013 Winter Meeting
National Football Foundation, Irving TX
January 28-29, 2013
CFO Coordinators 2013 Summer Meeting
Arbiter Sports, Park City, UT
June 3-4, 2013
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