Students of Today are Referees of Tomorrow

Upcoming START Programs

Messiah College - Boyer Hall 130
Sundays, March 26th, April 2nd and 9th
6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Sports offerings (based on interest levels from applicants): Field hockey, football, soccer, and volleyball
Register Here by March 17


What can I expect at a START program?
Candidates enrolled in a START program will be given enough information to pass the PIAA (NFHS) test. Once they pass, the individual chapter can get into more details on rules as well as teach/emphasize signals, positioning, uniforms, fitness, etc.

• First Meeting: Introduction to officiating in general, followed by introduction to NFHS rulebook and interpreter.
• Second Meeting: Interpreter reviews rulebook and gives time for a Q&A session.
• Third Meeting: Final opportunity for Q&A followed by the PIAA exam. PIAA exams are 100-question multiple-choice tests. Candidates who answer at least 75% of questions correctly will become certified.

Why should I be interested in collegiate officiating?
The better question would be, why not? Officials generally begin working middle school or youth games and are driven internally to advance to the high school junior varsity and varsity levels. Why stop there? NCAA Division III competition is the next logical step in testing your abilities. Compensation is generally 50% (or more) higher than a scholastic varsity game, mostly to pay for the extra time commitment, travel, and skill level of the official. The primary reason, hopefully, is the same reason you became a scholastic official - because it's FUN!

Am I qualified?
This varies per person's ability, experience, and need per sport. However one general rule of thumb is the official's post-season experience on the scholastic level. The official considering advancing to the collegiate level should have experience officiating state high school playoff contests. Usually, those official working state playoff games have worked league and district/section playoff games for several years. Is this mandatory? No, but realistically, an official not on the scholastic playoff level will not be perceived as a qualified collegiate official.

What do I have to do?
First, you have to make the personal (and family) commitment to strive to be the best. Collegiate student-athletes are doing the same, and it's imperative for the official to make the same commitment. Second, you'll have fewer meetings to attend as a college official, but you'll need to attend at least one preseason clinic or seminar annually that could last several hours (or even a full day or weekend). Third, you should contact the assignor of officials for the conference(s) in your area. You can do this directly, if that person's information is on the conference website or you have a friend who also works for that conference assignor. You can also do this by contacting the conference office/commissioner, who can give you needed information and forward your name/information to the conference assignor.

Can I work for more than one assignor?
Yes. In many sports, that's the norm. It should be encouraged in all sports so that officials can officiate at a variety of institutions throughout the season and help minimize travel.

Isn't there more travel?
Depending on the level of collegiate athletics the official achieves and the geographic size of the conference, yes, there is more travel. But in the Middle Atlantic region (Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia) most officials live within 90 minutes drive of a dozen or more NCAA DIvision II and NCAA Division III institutions (as well as NAIA and junior colleges). Most assignors will expect officials to travel at times, but they can also limit the number of longer trips per official, especially if the official has work-related or other time-restrictions. On balance, expanding the pool of qualified officials will assist in helping to minimize (but not eliminate) travel expectations.

Is there training and evaluations?
In some sports, there are regional or national ratings that have to be earned to be selected or advance on the collegiate level. New officials should expect to be evaluated at an off-season camp or clinic to earn that rating. The assignors in most college sports evaluate officials through coach's ratings/comments, personal observation, and sharing information with other regional conference assignors.

How high up on the collegiate level can I go?
That's totally up to the individual. An official that consistently gets strong game ratings and attends higher-level camps/clinics can advance to the NCAA Division I level.