COLLEGE FOOTBALL OFFICIATING, LLC

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1 COLLEGE FOOTBALL OFFICIATING, LLC CFO COORDINATORS ANNUAL WINTER MEETING Birmingham, January 29-31, 2012 Summary Report The annual winter meeting of the College Football Officiating (CFO) Coordinators was held January 29-31, 2012, in Birmingham. Steve Shaw (SEC) took the lead in hosting the meeting with able assistance from Harold Mitchell (SWAC). Ginny Thomas from the SEC office was enormously helpful in attending to the many details during the meeting, and the coordinators express their appreciation to the SEC and the SWAC. The Division I coordinators in attendance were joined by: Jon Steinbrecher, Commissioner, Mid-American Conference and chair, CFO Board of Managers Mike Slive, Commissioner, Southeastern Conference Ty Halpin (NCAA), CFO Administrator Claire Roberts (Arbiter Sports) Dave Yeast (Arbiter Sports) Carl Cheffers, substituting for Tony Corrente (PAC-12) Karl Richins, substituting for Doug Toole (Big Sky) Jeff Stern, Referee Magazine Welcoming Remarks Commissioner Mike Slive of the Southeastern Conference welcomed the group to SEC country. He reiterated the importance of enforcing player-safety rules around targeting and hits to the head, especially given all the attention to concussions. Mr. Slive expressed his strong support and enthusiasm for the CFO and how valuable the organization is now that we are so much more connected than in the past.

2 NCAA Updates Ty Halpin (NCAA) provided updates on a number of areas where the NCAA supports the CFO and the conferences. The national background check program is moving toward implementation, with a request for proposals (RFP) soon to be issued. The initial target will be the FBS conferences. Rules Discussion Rogers Redding led in a discussion of the upcoming rules committee meeting and potential changes; 2012 being a non-rules-change year, only those rules that directly bear on player safety may be considered for change this year. With that in mind, and for future consideration as well, the group briefly discussed these topics: Blocking below the waist and difficulty of officiating Offended team option at the end of 1st & 3rd quarters End the half on an offensive (only) foul Define descriptors for "holding" and "pass interference" Uniform rules and/or guidelines for weather delays Options instead of kickoffs Combine UNS and DBPF in the count of fouls for purposes of disqualifying a player Field color: Green only, for new and re-surfaced fields Eliminate delay-of-game foul following fair catch signal Any Team B foul during scrimmage kick to be PSK enforcement Articulate going-to-ground process on making a catch Do not stop the clock following a first down Neutral Crews for Interconference Games Doug Rhoads (ACC) led a discussion of the possibility of having some interconference FBS games between teams from different automatic-qualifier (AQ) conferences officiated by a crew from a third AQ conference. This would help mitigate the perception of conference bias that persists among a number of coaches and the media. The CFO provides a structure that would allow the national coordinator to make such assignments, much in the manner of bowl games. A number of issues remain to be resolved, principally the reality that the choice of crew conference is written into the game contract between the participating institutions. Redding will draft a framework of an initial plan and discuss with the Board of Managers at its April meeting. Video Exchange Several coordinators shared plays in a video session. Attention focused on the protection of the receiver of a kick and the possibility of returning some version of the halo rule. [NOTE: this proposal was taken to the rules committee and resulted in a change that instituted a modified halo. ] Others included whether a backward pass 2

3 out of bounds should be reviewable; the consensus is that it should not be reviewable in that, unlike a fumble, there is no change of possession involved. Intra-Crew Communication System Shaw reported on potential use of an electronic communication system that would allow the crew to talk with each other during the game. This has been favorably received by high school officials in Alabama. The SEC will experiment with this system during the spring. Dave Parry Award The selection committee chaired by Bill Carollo (Big 10-MAC) announced their recommendation of Jim Keogh as the first David M. Parry awardee. The CFO Board of Managers has approved this choice. Jim and his wife will be honored at the coordinators summer meeting in San Antonio in June of this year. Arbiter Update Claire Roberts and Dave Yeast participated in the meeting with Dave providing an update regarding the registration for the new year. Highlights of Dave s report: Total registrations for 2011 were 2851 compared with 1693 for 2010 Registration is scheduled to open June 1 Registered officials will be able to view video on their mobile devices (including iphone and ipad) A Rules App (available without Internet connection) will be launched Board of Managers: Chair Report Dr. Jon Steinbrecher, Commissioner of the Mid-American Conference and chair of the CFO Board of Managers, attended the meeting and made a presentation to the group. He expressed his appreciation for the respectful way that the coordinators are working together as a team. He also observed that he can see greater consistency in mechanics and applications of the rules. Behavior by coaches is a concern to him and the other commissioners. CFO Issues Bowl Games Officiating in the bowl games was very good and there were no major issues. Each head coach was asked to evaluate the crew. To date we have received 26 responses from the 70 coaches. Evaluations: Outstanding = 6, Acceptable = 15, Unacceptable = 5. Uniform Pre-Game jackets (if worn) must be solid black Caps: Black caps must have the traditional narrow white piping with no additional white (other than the manufacturer s logo). White caps must be solid white, no black (other than the manufacturer s logo). 3

4 Bean Bags must be solid black DP Patch will not be worn in the future Media conversations with officials Several coordinators expressed very serious concern about reports of active officials being quoted by the news media in connection with bowl team tendencies and other information. Such behavior by officials is highly unprofessional. A strong statement about such conduct has been posted to the CFO/Arbiter web site. Committee Reports TECHNOLOGY Chair Jim Jackson (OVC) led the group through a discussion of the content calendar of videos, tests etc., for the CFO/Arbiter web site. The calendar will be posted as soon as feasible. INSTANT REPLAY Chair Carollo initiated a discussion about time expiring on the game clock at the end of the half when it should stop at the end of the down. The principal question revolved around whether the IR official should have the exact time restored or if there should be some minimum time below which the clock would be allowed to expire. The group asked Redding to take the issue to the rules committee, which is where ultimate authority resides. NOTE: In its meetings the following week the rules committee directed that the exact time be restored to the clock. MECHANICS Chair Shaw reported that the committee is working with Jeff Stern at Referee Enterprises (publisher of the mechanics manual) to change the template and update the content of the manual. Stern said that the coordinators would be allowed to access portions of the manual electronically so that communications to officials, coaches, etc., could be enhanced regarding the mechanics. The committee will be working on this in the coming months. Officiating Philosophies Ken Rivera (MWC) led the group in a discussion to refine the officiating philosophies. Several of these were edited and will be included in the revised mechanics manual. Players Helmets Coming Off Ty Halpin reviewed the data regarding helmets coming off as kept by the on-field officials during the year. The group discussed a possible rules change that would require that a player sit out the next down if his helmet comes off through play other than due to a foul. NOTE: The rules committee adopted such a rule to take effect in

5 Future Meetings National Instant Replay Conference (For IROs and Referees) Chicago O Hare Marriott May 25-26, 2012 CFO Coordinators 2012 Summer Meeting (Big 12 and Conference-USA) San Antonio June 3-5, 2012 CFO Coordinators 2013 Winter Meeting National Football Foundation, Irving TX January 27-29, 2013 CFO Coordinators 2013 Summer Meeting Arbiter Sports Park City, UT June 2-4, Rogers Redding CFO National Coordinator 5