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Post by agpennypacker on Apr 21, 2023 22:21:48 GMT -5
A few conferences will be getting new Referees this fall. Who will take their spots?
Big Ten - Mike Cannon retired. I expect Bryan Banks to get the white hat, though Kole Knueppel and Amanda Sauer-Cook wouldn’t surprise me.
Big 12 - Scott Campbell joined the NFL. (I believe Mike Vandervelde is now the senior Referee in the conference after several years of departures.) Mike Cuttone or Cal McNeill would be next in line from the MWC, but I have a feeling it might be Christian Watson.
Pac-12 - Michael Mothershed retired. Jim Wharrie seems like the logical choice, as he’s worked a few games as Referee. Jason Gant is also possible.
SEC - James Carter joined the NFL. Perhaps a Sun Belt Referee gets his slot?
What do you think?
And, are there any other changes not mentioned here?
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Post by FredFan7 on Apr 21, 2023 22:29:00 GMT -5
Brace for offseason upheaval.
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Post by cball1985 on Apr 22, 2023 17:15:53 GMT -5
Chris Coyte was the referee for the Nebraska spring game. Did he leave the PAC 12?
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Post by agpennypacker on Apr 22, 2023 18:24:31 GMT -5
Chris Coyte was the referee for the Nebraska spring game. Did he leave the PAC 12? That would be really interesting. The Big Ten did hire Reggie Smith away from the Big 12, so I wouldn’t be surprised. |
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Post by FredFan7 on Apr 22, 2023 23:35:39 GMT -5
Expect lots of PAC-12 officials to go to the Big 10.
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Post by agpennypacker on Apr 23, 2023 22:57:17 GMT -5
Expect lots of PAC-12 officials to go to the Big 10. Is that because of the impending move of USC and UCLA, or is there something happening behind the scenes? |
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Post by SMasters16 on Apr 24, 2023 17:17:34 GMT -5
Watching the Nebraska spring game. It looks like a hybrid BIG/PAC 12 crew with Coyte, Villar and Wharrie.
Very interesting....
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Post by zebrablog on Apr 24, 2023 17:53:53 GMT -5
Watching the Nebraska spring game. It looks like a hybrid BIG/PAC 12 crew with Coyte, Villar and Wharrie. Very interesting.... Yes ... um, hybrid. As we said, stay tuned. |
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Post by zebrablog on Apr 24, 2023 20:43:36 GMT -5
Sorry to be vague earlier, but here's the scoop!
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Post by agpennypacker on Apr 24, 2023 21:08:54 GMT -5
Wow! What a scoop. Does anyone know why these guys elected to leave? Instability related to conference realignment? Bad management? Sweeter deal in the Big Ten?
Steve Strimling is a great Referee. It’s a shame he won’t be on the field anymore, though his skills will be helpful in the command center.
This leaves only Mark Duddy, Mike McCabe, and Matt Richards at the Referee position in the Pac-12, with Duddy as the veteran of that group. Really interesting developments.
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Post by russ on Apr 24, 2023 21:20:11 GMT -5
Sorry to be vague earlier, but here's the scoop! Yikes. That leaves just Mark Duddy, Mike McCabe and Matt Richards left as PAC-12 White Hats. They are going to need to get creative to fill those 4 spots. Could definitely see Jason Gant fill one of those spots as he was the Referee of the “Pro Bowl” but they really should reach out to the MWC, C-USA, Sun Belt and even AAC and MAC to try and recruit under utilized Referees. A majority of their hires come from C-USA with an occasional MWC so they could have some success if they go that route. But this is a disaster, no sugarcoating things. I have to think something happened internally for 4 long time Officials to walk like this. Even with the realignment you don’t just see 3 Referees leave a major conference at the same time like this. Wharrie was with the conference since they were the PAC-10 and was very Iikely to be a Referee this year. That’s what leads me to believe there are internal issues. |
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Post by agpennypacker on Apr 25, 2023 8:50:18 GMT -5
Sorry to be vague earlier, but here's the scoop! Yikes. That leaves just Mark Duddy, Mike McCabe and Matt Richards left as PAC-12 White Hats. They are going to need to get creative to fill those 4 spots. Could definitely see Jason Gant fill one of those spots as he was the Referee of the “Pro Bowl” but they really should reach out to the MWC, C-USA, Sun Belt and even AAC and MAC to try and recruit under utilized Referees. A majority of their hires come from C-USA with an occasional MWC so they could have some success if they go that route. But this is a disaster, no sugarcoating things. I have to think something happened internally for 4 long time Officials to walk like this. Even with the realignment you don’t just see 3 Referees leave a major conference at the same time like this. Wharrie was with the conference since they were the PAC-10 and was very Iikely to be a Referee this year. That’s what leads me to believe there are internal issues. That’s an excellent point. It definitely sounds like internal issues. I also have to wonder if there will be additional departures or retirements. |
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Post by lefty17 on Apr 25, 2023 11:31:53 GMT -5
I think the PAC 12 is going to have a difficult time trying to get officials from other parts of the country to join them. Pullman Washington and Corvallis and Eugene Oregon probably aren't the easiest places to get to by air.
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Post by russ on Apr 25, 2023 12:56:57 GMT -5
I think the PAC 12 is going to have a difficult time trying to get officials from other parts of the country to join them. Pullman Washington and Corvallis and Eugene Oregon probably aren't the easiest places to get to by air. A pay raise and a chacne to be a Referee in a Power 5 Conference could convince a few, but I agree it is a tough sell. MWC could be a little easier as quite a few of those teams play in Pac-12 territory. Mike Cuttone should be targeted as he has been a solid Referee in the MWC and lives in California. But he came up in the MWC and Big 12 and could be in line to become a Big 12 Referee soon. Tim Davis is another option and he lives in Washington. Those would be great places to start. |
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Post by FredFan7 on Apr 25, 2023 13:35:16 GMT -5
I think a lot of officials will take a wait and see approach this season before committing to join the Pac-12 and leave their conference. I would guess if you're a MWC center judge and the Pac-12 waves the white hat in front of you, it would be very tempting.
When the music stops, the Pac-12 officials want to have a chair - be it in the Pac-12 or another conference. You don't want to be a Pac official, the conference dissolves and THEN you start sending job applications to the MWC, Big 12, Big 10 or Conference USA. Those conferences could all be full and then you're looking for a job in the FCS. I think that is why the three new Big 10 officials jumped conference.
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