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User:Can I Log In/Workpage/Gridiron football official

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Field judge Brad Freeman (88) and line judge Jeff Seeman (45) at an NFL game in October 2014.

A gridiron football official is a person who is responsible for enforcing the rules and controlling the order of a Gridiron football game.

Football officials are commonly, but wrongly, called as a group of people called referees, but each position have certain repsonsibilities and a special name. Common positions are referee, umpire, head linesman (or down judge), line judge, field judge (or back umpire), side judge, back judge and center judge. Because the referee is responsible for the general control of the game, the position is sometimes known to as head referee or crew chief.[1][2][3]

Equipment

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An official (right) watches Navy's Shun White (#26) score a touchdown against Tulsa. Visible on his belt are his yellow penalty flag and an orange bean bag.

Gridiron football officials generally use the following equipment:

Whistle
Used to signal a dead ball (ball is no longer in play), or stop the next play from happening.
Penalty marker or flag
A bright-yellow (orange in Canada) flag that is thrown on the field near or at the spot of a foul (where a rule was broken), or straight up when there is no play, but there is a foul.
Bean bag
Used to mark the spot of when the football goes to a different team. Different from penalty flags, bean bags may be tossed to a spot parallel to the nearest yard line, not necessarily to the real spot.[4]
Down indicator
A specially made wristband that is used to remind officials of the current down. It has an elastic loop attached to it that is wrapped around the fingers. Usually, officials put the loop around their index finger when it is first down, the middle finger when it is second down, and so on.
Game data card and pencil
Officials write down important game information. Game data cards can be disposable paper or reusable plastic. A pencil with a special bullet-shaped cap is often carried. The cap stops pencil from stabbing the official when it is in their pocket.
Stopwatch
Officials will carry a stopwatch (typically a digital wristwatch) to time when needed.

Uniform

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A pair of officials at a Maryland high school football game in September 2008. White knickers used to be worn by officials; black trousers are now standard.

To be more seen, officials are normally in black-and-white vertically striped shirt and black trousers with a thin white stripe down the side. Officials also have a black belt, black shoes, and a peaked cap. A letter showing the type of official for each official shows on the back of the shirt at some levels, while NFL officials have numbers with a small letter or letters above.

Positions and responsibilities

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The following are the positions and responsibilities of each officiating positions. Before the snap and during the play, each official, by position, has a specific area of responsibility on the field to watch certain player positions and watch for specific fouls.

Active

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These officials are currently in use by Divison I FBS, NFL, or another professional league

On-field

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These officials are on the ground on the field.

Referee
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A referee (foreground) follows the action of a play between the Texas Longhorns and the Rice Owls. The "R" placket on the back of his shirt identifies him as a referee, as does his white cap.
 
Referee Ron Winter reviews a play in the replay booth during a game on November 2, 2008 between the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles.

The referee (R) is responsible for the general authority of the game and has the final decisions on all rulings. In the NFL, he also has final decisions on the score and the down number in case of any arguments.[5] Thus, this position is sometimes referred to as head referee and is considered to be the crew chief. He can be identified by his white cap, while the other officials wear black caps (the hat color scheme was reversed in the NFL from 1979–87).

During each play from scrimmage, the referee positions himself behind the offensive team, closer to the right side (if the quarterback is a right-handed passer). He also counts offensive players.

On passing plays, he focuses on the quarterback and defenders approaching him. The referee makes the decisions on any fouls for roughing the passer and, if the quarterback loses the ball, determines whether the ball was fumbled or if an incomplete pass had been thrown.

On running plays, the referee watches the quarterback during and after the time he hands off the ball to a running back, holding his attention on him until the action has cleared in case the play becomes a play action pass or some other trick passing play. After it has been established that the running back will keep the ball, the referee then checks the running back and the contact behind him.

During punts and field goals, the referee watches the kicker (and holder) and any contact made by defenders approaching them. On a punt out of bounds, he uses his vantage point behind the punter to direct the nearest sideline official to the spot where the ball went out of bounds.

Umpire
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An umpire watches a play from behind the defensive line during a game between the UCLA Bruins and the California Golden Bears.

The umpire (U) stands behind the defensive line and linebackers (except as described below for the NFL and CFL), observing the blocks by the offensive line and defenders trying to ward off those blocks, looking for holding or illegal blocks. Prior to the snap, he counts all offensive players.

During passing plays, he moves forward towards the line of scrimmage as the play develops to (1) penalize any offensive linemen who move illegally downfield before the pass is thrown or (2) penalize the quarterback for throwing the ball when beyond the original line of scrimmage. He also assists in ruling incomplete passes when the ball is thrown short.

In addition to his on-field duties, the umpire is responsible for the legality of all of the players' equipment.

As the umpire is situated where much of the play's initial action occurs, he is considered by many to hold the most dangerous officiating position.

NFL and CFL positioning
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As the umpire is situated where much of the play's initial action occurs, he is considered to hold the most physically dangerous officiating position.[6] For this reason, the NFL carried out experiments in the 2001 preseason with the umpire placed in the offensive backfield adjacent to the referee.[7] In March 2010, the NFL announced that this repositioning would be permanent, after five major injuries were suffered by umpires in 2009 (two concussions and three knee or shoulder injuries requiring surgery).[8] From 2010-15, the umpire returned to the defensive side of the line of scrimmage during the last five minutes of the second half. In 2016, this provision was deleted, and the umpire now stands in the offensive backfield on all plays except when it is obvious when the offensive team will spike the ball.

Head linesman/down judge
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The head linesman (H or HL), or down judge (DJ) in the NFL, stands at one end of the line of scrimmage (usually the side opposite the press box, always with the chain crew), looking for possible offsides, encroachment and other fouls before the snap. As the play develops, the head linesman is responsible for judging the action near that sideline, including whether a player is out of bounds. Responsibilities on a passing play include watching the receivers near that sideline to a point five to seven yards beyond the line of scrimmage.

The head linesman/down judge marks the forward progress of the ball and is in charge of the chain crew with regard to its duties. In addition to the general equipment listed above, the head linesman/down judge also carries a chain clip that is used by the chain crew to properly place the chains and ensure an accurate spot when measuring for a first down.

The NFL transitioned to the gender-neutral term down judge in 2017, when it moved Sarah Thomas to the position.[9] The following year, the CFL followed suit with the name change.

Line judge
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This diagram shows the relative positions of the seven officials (in white) in relation to the typical offensive (in blue) and defensive (in red) formations. In the NFL, since 2015, the Umpire is positioned in the offensive backfield, opposite the Referee.

The line judge (L or LJ) assists the head linesman or down judge at the other end of the line of scrimmage, looking for possible offsides, encroachment and other fouls before the snap. As the play develops, he is responsible for the action near his sideline, including whether a player is out of bounds. He is also responsible for counting offensive players.

During the start of passing plays, he is responsible for watching the receivers near his sideline to a point five to seven yards beyond the line of scrimmage. Afterwards, he moves back towards the line of scrimmage, ruling if a pass is forward, a lateral, or if it is illegally thrown beyond the line of scrimmage.

On punts and field goal attempts, the line judge also determines whether the kick is made from behind the line of scrimmage.

In high school and minor leagues, the line judge is the official timekeeper of the game. In the NFL, college, and other levels of football, the official time is instead kept on the stadium scoreboard clock, and the line judge becomes the backup timekeeper.

For the NFL, this was the sixth official, added in 1965.[10][11]

Field judge
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The field judge (F or FJ) or back umpire (BU) works downfield behind the defensive secondary on the same sideline as the line judge. He makes decisions near the sideline on his side of the field, judging the action of nearby running backs, receivers and defenders. He rules on pass interference, illegal blocks downfield, and incomplete passes. He is also responsible for counting defensive players. He has sometimes been the official timekeeper, and in a number of leagues will run the game clock on a six-man crew.[12][13]

With the back judge, he rules whether field goal attempts are successful.

For the NFL, this was the fourth official, added in 1929.[11]

The position is called the back umpire in Canadian amateur football; all other leagues use the term field judge. However, in the CFL, this was the fifth official, added in 1951.[14]

Side judge
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The side judge (S or SJ) works downfield behind the defensive secondary on the same sideline as the head linesman or down judge. Like the field judge, he makes decisions near the sideline on his side of field, judging the action of nearby running backs, receivers and defenders. He rules on pass interference, illegal blocks downfield, and incomplete passes. He also counts defensive players. During field goal attempts he serves as a second umpire, except in the NFL, where he is the lone official positioned behind the defensive line, as the umpire remains in the offensive backfield.

In college football, the side judge is responsible for either the game clock or the play clock, which are operated by an assistant under his direction.

For the NFL and CFL, this was the seventh official, added in 1978 and 1991 respectively.[15][14]

Back judge
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Back judge Lee Dyer picks up a penalty flag during a game on November 16, 2008 between the San Francisco 49ers and St. Louis Rams.

The back judge (B or BJ) stands deep behind the defensive secondary in the middle of the field, judging the action of nearby running backs, receivers (primarily the tight ends) and nearby defenders. Like the Side Judge and the Field Judge, he rules on pass interference, illegal blocks downfield, and incomplete passes. He covers the area in the middle of the field between himself and the umpire. He has the final say regarding the legality of kicks not made from scrimmage (kickoffs). The back judge is also responsible for ruling a "delay of game" infraction if the play clock expires.

With the field judge, he rules whether field goal attempts are successful.

In college football the back judge is responsible for either the game clock or the play clock, which are operated by an assistant under his direction.

For the NFL, this was the fifth official, added in 1947.[11][16] However, in the CFL, this was the sixth official, added in 1979.[14]

Center judge
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The center judge (C) is positioned beside the referee in the offensive backfield adjacent to the referee, positioned equivalent to the Umpire. Such responsibilities include ball spotting, penalty marking, and assisting the referee and umpire.[17] In NCAA Division I FBS, the Center Judge becomes the "Acting Referee" should the referee become injured and unable to continue offiating. The NFL has experimented with the center judge in the 2015 preseason for 5 or 6 games,[18][19][note 1] but instead positioned 20 yards down field of the line of scrimmage to observe the center and guards.[19] In the professional level, the center judge has yet to be used either the NFL or CFL; however, one league, the 2020 version of the XFL does utilize the center judge.

In 2013, college football's Big 12 Conference began using an eighth official, an alternate judge (A). He stands in the offensive backfield opposite the head referee, in the same position as an NFL umpire, while keeping the Big 12 umpire in his traditional position behind the defensive line. The alternate judge will also help spot the ball.[20] In the 2014 season, any conference that wanted to use the eight-official system could do so on an experimental basis. The Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten Conference, American Athletic Conference, and Big 12 Conference implemented an eight-official system for games; the eighth official's position name changed to center judge (C) but his location on the field was the same as the alternate judge was in 2013. The eight-man crews were used in bowl games, including games in the College Football Playoff, since officials from conferences using the eight-man crews were chosen for the three playoff games. In the 2015 season, the center judge became standard across all of FBS. It is also used by the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference.

Ball-spotting official
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In the XFL (2020), there is one official dedicated to spotting the ball, with the purpose to reduce downtime.[21]

Transitioning during turnovers, punts, and other returns
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During turnovers, punts, and other returns by the defense, and play transitions from one direction to the other, the officials must also adjust. The field judge, side judge, and back judge become the trail/back positions, and the referee, head linesman/down judge, and line judge then become the lead/front positions. The umpire, in his traditional position in the middle of the field, usually stays stationary until the returner and the other players pass him.

Off-field

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Replay official
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The replay official is located upstairs in the stadium of the game played. They can initiate replay reviews on in certain circumstances.

In CFL football, the replay official is not located at the stadium itself, but rather at the CFL Command Centre at the CFL Head Office in Toronto. The official is responsible for the final determination of challenges made by the two teams' head coaches; and in the final 3 minutes (and all of overtime) of the game initiating a review of any play they believe warrants such attention. The official also reviews all scoring plays during the game. When a review is underway, the referee speaks to the replay official via headset at the sideline. The replay official has the final call over all challenges and reviews.[22]

U Sports and other leagues in Canada do not utilize the replay-review process.

Sky judge
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The Alliance of American Football used the sky judge, who had the authority to assess penalties (or overturn penalties) for unsafe play, and (within the final five minutes of the fourth quarter) either call or overturn pass interference penalties against either the offense or defense. The XFL (2020) has adopted this.[23]

Inactive

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CFL eighth official

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Late in the 2018 playoffs, the CFL added an eighth official to the on-field crew; it did not have an official position title. This official lined up in the offensive backfield, and his sole responsibility was helmet contact on the quarterback. This position was only used in the Eastern and Western finals and the Grey Cup.[24] The eighth official did not return in 2019.

Deep judge

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In four games in the 2010 preseason, the NFL experimented with an eighth official, a deep judge (DJ), in the defensive backfield opposite the back judge. The primary responsibility for this new position is the action of receivers, and it allowed the NFL to adjust coverage after the umpire was moved to the offensive backfield. The experiment was continued for 12 games in the 2011 preseason, and was then discontinued afterwards.[25]

Second Umpire

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For the 2015 and 2019 NFL preseasons, for 8 and 2 games respectively, the NFL experimented with the umpire (U2),[19] positioned in the offensive backfield. Their responsibilities was to focus on center pre-snap and offensive guards and tackles.[18]

Middle Judge

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For the 2016, 2017, and 2019 NFL preseasons, for 16, 5, and 2 games respectively, the NFL experimented with the middle judge (MJ).[19] Main responsibilities are to look for holding near the line of scrimmage. The middle judge is placed in the center of the field, adjacent to the back judge (BJ).

List of officiating systems

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Officiating Systems
Officiating System Officials Leauges
Three Referee (R), umpire (U), line judge (LJ) Youth
Four Referee, umpire, line judge, head linesman (HL) Youth varsity
Five Referee, umpire, line judge, head linesman, back judge (BJ) Arena football, high school varsity, semi-pro
Six Referee, umpire, line judge, head linesman, field judge (FJ), side judge (SJ) High school, NCAA Division II and III
Seven Referee, umpire, line judge, head linesman/down judge (DJ),[note 2] back judge, field judge, side judge NFL, CFL
Eight Referee, umpire, line judge, head linesman, back judge, field judge, side judge, center judge (CJ) NCAA Division I FBS, AAF, XFL


History

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When the NFL began play, only three officials (referee, umpire, and head linesman) were used. The field judge was added in 1929 and the back judge in 1947. In response to scrambling quarterbacks (Fran Tarkenton in particular), the line judge was added in 1965 to watch the opposite side of the line of scrimmage.[10][11] The side judge was added for 1978, when the NFL implemented new rules to open up the passing game.[15] In 2017, the NFL renamed the head linesman to down judge.

Up until 1950, the forerunner leagues to the present-day Canadian Football League (founded in 1958) used only four officials: The referee, umpire, head linesman and line judge. Over the next 40 years, the system would change into what is more-or-less equal to what most American football leagues use today, a seven-official system. The first new addition to the crew was the field judge (also referred to as the back umpire) in 1951, then the next addition being the back judge in 1979, and the seventh official, the side judge being added in 1991.

The practice of having the referee announce penalties or clarify complex and/or unusual rulings over a wireless microphone started in the NFL in 1975. College football and other professional leagues soon adopted this practice.

For years, college football referees were prohibited from announcing the number of a fouling player, except in the Western Athletic Conference and Mountain West Conference (and in all conferences when ejecting the offending player). In 2004, the rules were changed throughout college football to permit the fouling player's number to be announced. Under NFHS rules used in all states except Massachusetts and Texas for high school games, announcing the player's number went from "not allowed" to "not required" in 2014.

Among the various Halls of Fame for major North American sports, the Pro Football Hall of Fame is unique in that it has not inducted any officials; the Baseball Hall of Fame, Basketball Hall of Fame, and Hockey Hall of Fame have each inducted game officials as members. (The Hall has one officiating-related inductee; 1966 inductee Hugh L. Ray was inducted for his 14-season tenure as the league's head of officiating, an off-field position.) However, in Canada, the Canadian Football Hall of Fame has inducted a few game officials as members of their Hall of Fame.

NFL employment status

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See also: 2012 NFL referee labor dispute

Because their regular season spans only 17 weeks, the NFL is one of only two major sports leagues in the United States that only pay their officials on a contract basis as opposed to being full-time salaried employees, the other being Major League Soccer. Advantages to this system include being able to eliminate unqualified officials simply by not offering them a contract the following season, where terminating full-time employees would require them to show cause.[source?] Critics argue that full-time officials would be free from the distractions of a second job, but proponents of part-time officials point out that the NFL would lose a number of qualified officials because many of them are owners, presidents, or CEOs of various companies. Proponents also argue that there is only one game per week and the regular season is only four months long, and that having full-time officials does not necessarily guarantee that they will make fewer officiating mistakes. The level of training and review in which NFL officials participate makes additional time redundant. In any event, veteran officials can earn substantial salaries for their work. The NFL Referees Association serves as the union that represents officials in the NFL.

Female officials

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Historically, American football officials have been men.

In 2007, Sarah Thomas became the first woman to officiate a major college football game, working a game between Memphis and Jacksonville State.[26] Thomas later became the first woman to officiate a bowl game when she worked as a line judge during the 2009 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl between Marshall and Ohio.[27] Since then, other women have officiated Division I college football games.[28] In 2015, Thomas became the NFL's first permanent female official.[29] She entered as a line judge, and moved to the down judge (head linesman) role in her third season.[9][30] In 2017, she was an alternate in an NFL wild card game.[31] In 2019, she became the first female official to officiate an NFL playoff game in an AFC divisional round between Los Angeles Chargers at New England Patriots.[32] She worked another playoff game in 2020 in an NFC divisional round between the Minnesota Vikings at San Francisco 49ers.[31]

Terri Valenti became the first woman to officiate professional football when she began working United Football League games in 2009.[33] The UFL later hired Thomas in 2010.[34] In 2017, the NFL hired her as a replay official. She officated the 2020 AFC Championship game.[31] She is also doing replay officiating for the XFL.[35][36]

In 2012, Shannon Eastin became the first female official of an NFL game.[37] She was a replacement line judge while the league had locked out the regular officials due to a labor dispute. Darin Gantt of Profootballtalk.com and Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times lamented that it was in this manner that this gender barrier was broken.[38][39]

In 2017, Amanda Sauer-Cooks became the first ever female referee in the a Division I game,[40] and possibly all of football.[source?] Her first game as referee was Morgan State at Rutgers.[40] She is also the first openly gay (lesbian) official to work in a major professional football league and in college football.[41][40] For the defunct 2019 Alliance of American Football, and the 2020 XFL, she works as center judge.[42][36]

In 2019, the AAF had 3 female officials. In 2020, the XFL has 6 female officials. Having 6 total officiating crews, there will be 1 female official for each crew. There is also 1 female replay official.[35]

Note

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  1. ↑ ESPN says the center judge was used for six games, while Football Zebras says it was used for five games.
  2. ↑ In 2017, NFL switched from head linesman to down judge as to the gender-neutral term following Sarah Thomas moving from line judge to the position. The CFL did the same the following year.

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ Markbreit, Jerry (November 23, 2005). "Jerry Markbreit's answers: The former NFL referee answers readers' questions each week throughout the season". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on October 19, 2006.
  2. ↑ Pascoe, Bruce (August 14, 2006). "Grad of CDO finds fame as NFL referee". Arizona Daily Star. Tucson. Archived from the original on January 8, 2007.
  3. ↑ Zimmerman, Lisa (July 10, 2001). "Replay booth: Positively no visitors". NFL.com. Archived from the original on 2007-07-17. Retrieved 2007-03-10.
  4. ↑ "SFFOA Oritentation Guide". South Florida Football Officials Association. April 1, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-19.[permanent dead link]
  5. ↑ "NFL 2013 Rulebook" (PDF). NFL. Retrieved December 2, 2013. Rule 15-2-1: [The referee] is the final authority for the score, and the number of a down in case of a disagreement. His decisions upon all matters not specifically placed under the jurisdiction of other officials, either by rule or the officials' manual, are to be final
  6. ↑ Roberts, Rich (October 24, 1985). "AN NFL UMPIRE'S . . . LIFE IN THE WAR ZONE - For His Own Protection, This Official Must Read Defenses and Offenses; Draw Plays Are Murder". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 2, 2011. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
  7. ↑ "NFL experimenting with putting umpire in offensive backfield". CBC. August 4, 2001. Archived from the original on September 9, 2010. Retrieved 2009-10-23.
  8. ↑ Mortensen, Chris (March 22, 2010). "NFL moves umpires for safety's sake". ESPN. Archived from the original on March 26, 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Austro, Ben (June 16, 2017). ""NFL has a new name for the head linesman position: down judge"". Football Zebras. Archived from the original on June 19, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Football so fast, complex: NFL adding sixth official". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. July 25, 1965. p. 3, sports.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Strickler, George (February 20, 1965). "Sixth N.F.L. official to watch scramblers, clock". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, sec. 2. Archived from the original on October 8, 2015.
  12. ↑ GHSA Football Officials Manual 2009 (PDF). Georgia High School Association. p. 60. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-03-31.
  13. ↑ "2009 FOOTBALL MANUAL For IOA Officials, Observers, Athletic Directors, and Coaches" (PDF). Intercollegiate Officiating Association. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 "CFL Guide & Record Book 2017 Edition" (PDF).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "NFL revises rules to promote points". Milwaukee Journal. UPI and AP. March 15, 1978. p. 18, part 2.
  16. ↑ "National League officials to work in crews of six (five)". Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. August 19, 1947. p. 6, part 2.
  17. ↑ "Why the ACC will use an eighth official called the 'center judge' in all conference games this season". syracuse. 2014-07-08. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Inside Slant: Using Microsoft tablets for replay and more preseason experiments". ESPN.com. 2015-08-18. Retrieved 2020-02-23.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 Austro, Ben (2019-08-16). "NFL taking another look at adding an 8th official in preseason test". Football Zebras. Retrieved 2020-02-23.
  20. ↑ Dodd, Dennis (July 22, 2013). "Big 12 adds eighth official just to keep up with up-tempo offenses". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on December 4, 2013. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
  21. ↑ "XFL Rules". www.xfl.com. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
  22. ↑ "Wayback Machine" (PDF). web.archive.org. 2012-05-11. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
  23. ↑ "XFL Q&A: Oliver Luck on lessons learned, Colin Kaepernick and sports betting". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
  24. ↑ Shapiro, Michael. "CFL adds eighth official to monitor hits to helmet". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
  25. ↑ "NFL experimenting with 8th on-field official". August 25, 2011. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
  26. ↑ "Thomas will become first female referee in top tier of college football". ESPN. Associated Press. September 14, 2007. Archived from the original on August 14, 2012. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  27. ↑ "Thomas on field for Little Caesars Bowl". Yahoo! Sports. Associated Press. December 27, 2009. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  28. ↑ Reiter, Bill (September 6, 2011). "Female ref Conti still chases NFL dream". Fox Sports. Archived from the original on August 7, 2012. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  29. ↑ "NFL makes Sarah Thomas first full-time female official". nfl.com. Archived from the original on 20 December 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  30. ↑ "Sarah Thomas, NFL's 1st Full-Time Female Ref, Gets 2015 Season Assignment". yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 Regan, Brett (2020-01-16). "Meet Sarah Thomas: The Only Female Official in NFL Playoff History". FanBuzz - Sports News - NFL | NCAA | NBA | WWE. Retrieved 2020-02-23.
  32. ↑ Conway, Tyler. "Sarah Thomas Becomes 1st Woman to Officiate NFL Playoff Game". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2020-02-23.
  33. ↑ "UFL hires first female official in pro football". Newsday. October 6, 2009. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  34. ↑ "United Football League Announces Officials And Explains Rules Differences For 2010 Season". OurSportsCentral.com. 2010-07-29. Archived from the original on 2011-06-29. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 Filipe, Cameron; Austro, Ben (2020-01-28). "XFL breaks new ground by having a woman on every officiating crew". Football Zebras. Retrieved 2020-02-23.
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 Austro, Ben (2020-01-28). "Officiating crews for the 2020 XFL season". Football Zebras. Retrieved 2020-02-23.
  37. ↑ Farmer, Sam (July 20, 2012). "Former officials are at odds with the NFL, too". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012. Retrieved August 6, 2012. One of them is Shannon Eastin, who has been a referee in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and other leagues. The NFL has never had a woman work as an on-field game official
  38. ↑ "NFL's replacement officials would include first female ref". ProFootballTalk. July 22, 2012. Archived from the original on July 28, 2012. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  39. ↑ "Football referee Shannon Eastin a pioneer, but also a pawn". Los Angeles Times. August 8, 2012. Archived from the original on August 8, 2012. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 40.2 Lewis, Josh (2020-02-05). "XFL makes history again by opening doors to LGBTQ officials". Football Zebras. Retrieved 2020-02-23.
  41. ↑ Filipe, Cameron; Austro, Ben (2020-01-28). "XFL breaks new ground by having a woman on every officiating crew". Football Zebras. Retrieved 2020-02-23.
  42. ↑ Austro, Ben (2019-02-08). "Officiating crews for the 2019 AAF season". Football Zebras. Retrieved 2020-02-23.
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