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NCAA referee Mike Eades talks to Wisconsin Badgers head coach Greg Gard during the game with the Minnesota Gophers at the Kohl Center. Mandatory Credit: Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports

SEC Tabs New Coordinator of Men's Basketball Officiating

• Author: Nate Gabler

Mike Eades, a 24-year veteran of college basketball officiating and three-time Final Four official, has been named Coordinator of Men's Basketball Officials for the Southeastern Conference, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey announced Tuesday.

Eades, a graduate of Bluefield (WV) State College and native of Princeton, WV, has extensive experience as an NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament official that includes four Sweet 16 assignments, five Elite 8 assignments and appearances in the 2015, 2016 and 2017 Final Fours.

Eades has been serving as an official in SEC, ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, American, Atlantic 10 and Big South conferences and Colonial Athletic Association games while also holding the position of Supervisor of Men's Basketball Officials for the Mountain East Conference, a role he has held since 2013, and the River States Conference since 2018.

"Mike Eades will bring nearly a quarter of a century of men's basketball officiating experience and knowledge to the SEC's officiating program," said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. "Mike has experienced success as an on-court official at the highest levels of college basketball and he has developed relationships during his career that will be beneficial in supporting the men's basketball officiating program of the SEC."

In his role as SEC Coordinator of Men's Basketball Officials, Eades will be charged with selecting, training, evaluating, and assigning officials for SEC contests. He will also manage a basketball officiating consortium that consists of, in addition to the SEC, the American, Sun Belt and ASUN conferences.

Eades' basketball officiating career began in 1992 in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) and he also officiated for the Horizon League, Summit League, Big South, Mid-American Conference (MAC) early in his career.

Prior to his graduation from Bluefield State, Eades played basketball at Lees-McRae (NC) College and he was later inducted into its Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012. Eades and his wife, Gina, have one son, Anthony.

Story via. SEC Release

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Guidance and Considerations for Men’s and Women’s Basketball Officiating

This document is intended as a resource to provide guidance for member schools and conferences in all divisions on the topic of basketball officiating.

The information in this publication was developed in support of the release of the  Core Principles of Resocialization of Collegiate Basketball  and  Frequently Asked Questions: Principles of Resocialization of Collegiate Basketball and Testing Considerations for All Sports . All information contained in this document should be considered recommendations and/or considerations. As with prior NCAA publications, this document reflects the relevant scientific and medical information available at the time of print. These materials should not be used as a substitute for medical or legal advice. Rather, they are intended as a resource for member schools to use in coordination with applicable government and related institutional policies and guidelines, and they remain subject to further revision as available data and information in this space continue to emerge and evolve.

COVID-19 Testing.

• For purposes of the  Core Principles of Resocialization of Collegiate Basketball , officials are considered part of the Tier 1 individuals who are tested a minimum of three times a week on nonconsecutive days. Testing can be PCR or antigen with testing ideally beginning one week before assignment (to permit completion of three tests and receipt of results before the start of event activities).
• Schools and conferences should proactively work with officials and/or assigning agencies (for example, for multiteam events or NCAA championship games) to determine how costs associated with testing will be managed.
• Where an official is only working one game in an entire week, consider a minimum of one test before the game, either PCR within three days before the assignment or antigen/rapid PCR on the same day as the assignment.
• For conferences that play conference-only games (or for schools that play games within a specified geographic locale) with one team in one location on consecutive days: officials who work both games need one PCR test within three days before the second game or an antigen/rapid PCR test on the day of each game. If the games are nonconsecutive (for example, Thursday and Saturday), then the PCR test should be within three days before the second game or an antigen test the day of each game. If the crews change, then PCR or antigen testing is for the assigned game of the officials, that is, a PCR within three days before the assigned game or an antigen/rapid PCR test on the day of the assigned game.
• Where testing will occur on the same day as competition, the assigning conference should consider coordinating and managing those activities. If the host institution/third-party testing agency is facilitating testing on-site, it should proactively consider how it will liaise with applicable state and local public health officials, including notification of any positive test results and participation in and support of any necessary contact tracing activities.
• The time of the testing should be determined based on the type of test and the start of the game. Consideration should be given for replacement officials in the event of a positive test result.
• When an official is tested on-site, the host institution should consider how best to provide a holding area for tested officials, and ensure they avoid proximity and contact with other individuals, until results are known.
• Procedures for notifying applicable government health agencies, conference administrators and coordinators, and other impacted stakeholders in the event an official tests positive or has inconclusive test results.
• Procedures and adequate facilities to appropriately isolate/provide a holding area and provide access to necessary medical care for officials who test positive.
• Necessary arrangements for proper return transport of an infected, isolated or quarantined official. If the official is to travel home, this must be done with strict adherence to isolation travel (private car/bus/charter) with appropriate personal protective equipment for all.
• Currently, neither CDC recommendations nor NCAA guidance suggests that the recommended 14-day quarantine period might be shortened on the basis of a negative test result. In other words, it is not suggested that individuals can “test out of” quarantine requirements. Where it is believed that an antigen test has resulted in a possible false-positive result, materials suggest that normal isolation practices would be followed unless and until a subsequent PCR test could produce a negative test result. Suggested protocols for retesting a possible false positive PCR result currently vary and are managed by state, county and local public health authorities. Conferences and schools will want to take appropriate steps to confirm their retesting protocols are properly aligned with state, county and local regulations.
• Emerging information reported on the CDC website suggests retesting of individuals who have previously tested positive for COVID-19 is unlikely to yield useful information, even if the person has had close contact with an infected person, so retesting is not suggested during the 90 days following a positive test unless individuals develop symptoms consistent with COVID-19 and there is no other cause identified for their symptoms. Emerging evidence also suggests that individuals can continue to test positive even after 90 days, yet there is a scarcity of reports that are consistent with individual reinfection. Antibody levels can fluctuate over time, and the clinical meaning of this fluctuation is uncertain. Given such data, for a period of 150 days, retesting should be performed only for those individuals who develop COVID-19 symptoms that are not otherwise explained by another condition. However, after this 90-day window, it is recommended that individuals who experience a high-risk exposure enter quarantine for 14 days.

Communication.

Host institutions should consider proactively communicating with officials about testing and venue information at least 48 hours before the scheduled game and should consider including, among other pertinent information:

• Testing times and protocol at the game site, if applicable.
• Recommended time of arrival for officials.
• Designated point of entry for officials to use to enter/exit the facility.
• Screening requirements/protocols needed before entry, if applicable.
• Availability of locker room and/or meeting space.
• Availability of showers, towels and water bottles.
• Protocol for use of the athletic training facility and services.
• It is important that host institutions, game officials, conferences and conference coordinators stay updated and educated on all applicable federal, state, county and local travel restrictions. Clear and proactive communication with applicable federal, state, county and local health agencies may help facilitate travel logistics and avoid unnecessary restrictions.
• Conference coordinators and others involved with scheduling officials should consider whether and to what extent geographically based assignments might help avoid unnecessary travel and otherwise limit risks related to COVID-19 for officials.
• Officials should be mindful about masking/distancing and other travel-related risk-mitigation practices described in the  CDC travel guidelines  and should consider avoiding ride share and any other arrangements that may limit the ability to adhere to these guidelines.

Host schools should consult with conference representatives, as applicable, and carefully consider and determine how best to address all applicable risks related to pregame activities including, among others:

• Whether the host school has planned to hold pregame conferences virtually before arrival or on-site in a location other than the locker room to facilitate proper physical distancing practices.
• Whether officials will be permitted to arrive and depart the facility in their game attire.
• Whether postgame showering in the locker room will be permitted.
• Reminders about the importance of masking and maintaining adequate distance in the locker room, upon entering the facility and while transitioning to and from the court.
• Procedures to ensure game officials’ locker rooms and/or meeting areas are adequately cleaned and disinfected before officials’ arrival and that, once cleaned, no access is given to anyone other than the officials.
• Adequate supply and access to hand sanitizer and disinfectant spray bottles and/or disinfecting wipes in the officials’ locker room.
• Clean towels assigned for each official, as applicable, for use in the locker room or on the court and procedures to ensure they are only handled by the official to which they are assigned.
• Consider conducting activity at the scorer’s table, 45 minutes before game time.
• Remind all individuals about the importance of masking and maintaining adequate physical distance during activity.
• Consider encouraging the referee to make note of the location of all key table crew positions to ensure they are easily locatable and accessible during the game as needed.
• Consider eliminating or modifying the format of captains/officials meeting to include only the referee and one student-athlete per team.
• Reminders to captains about the importance of compliance by all individuals with all applicable masking and distancing requirements and that physical contact with officials is prohibited at all times, including during player introductions.
• Reminders to coaches that handshakes/fist bumps and other physical contact between officials and coaches has been eliminated.

Host schools should consult with conference representatives, as applicable, and carefully consider and determine how best to address all applicable risks related to in-game activities including, among others:

• Consider requiring officials to cover all sides of a whistle to prevent displacement of spit into the air.  Consider asking officials to arrive at the event with an adequate supply of spare coverings.  Consider allowing electronic whistles as a substitute for a traditional whistle.
• Consider requiring officials to sanitize or replace their whistle covering and mask/face covering at halftime.
• Reminders to officials about the importance of masking and maintaining adequate physical distance during all situations that require a conference involving officials, coaches and/or players.
• Reminder to officials that use of protective shatterproof eyewear or goggles and/or gloves is permitted.
• If a timing system is used, consider procedures to adequately clean and disinfect the system before use by officials.
• Reminders to officials about the importance of masking and maintaining adequate physical distance whenever possible, including during timeouts, replays, intermissions and any other extended dead ball situations.
• Reminders to officials about the importance of avoiding physical contact with players during altercations and that verbal direction and multiple sharp blasts of the whistle should be used, alternatively, to aid in restoring order.
• Reminders to officials about the importance of masking and, as possible, maintaining adequate physical distance, when communicating with any scorer’s table personnel.
• Reminders to officials that they can adjust their positioning as needed to ensure their communication is seen and heard by the table crew.
• If a replay monitor is used, consider locating the monitor and controller in a place that allows for physical distancing from bench and scorer’s table personnel and consider procedures to ensure the replay controller, monitor controls and headsets are adequately cleaned and disinfected after each use.
• Reminders to officials to adhere to masking, distancing and other risk mitigation protocols while at the replay monitor and during pre-review and post-review discussions including during communications with TV talent regarding reviews.
• Consider making disposable masks, gloves and hand sanitizer readily available to officials at the monitor station.
• Where applicable, consider requiring the instant replay technician to operate the monitor review controls.
• Mechanics. Please refer to the COVID-19 safety practices documents developed by the Collegiate Commissioners Association Men’s and Women’s Mechanics Committees as the same are described in the  Men’s Rules  and  Women’s Rules , respectively.

Host schools should consult with conference representatives, as applicable, and carefully consider and determine how best to address all applicable risks related to postgame activities including, among others:

• Meals: If postgame meals are provided for officials, consider limiting options to prepackaged grab-and-go items that are accessible to officials while permitting them to adhere to physical distancing protocols.
• Consider conducting the officials postgame conference virtually or off-site and, if conducted in the locker room, reminding officials about the importance of continuing to adhere to masking and physical distancing requirements.
• Consider prohibiting evaluators and conference personnel from accessing the locker room and, instead, conducting postgame evaluations virtually or over the phone.

Division I National Dashboard.

• Consider creating a national dashboard through which information about eligibility of officials, based on adherence to testing and other COVID-19 protocols, can be shared with conferences.
• Consider encouraging or requiring each conference to submit a roster of all active officials to the national dashboard.
• Consider asking officials to participate in the dashboard by creating a profile and consents to allow applicable conference(s) to review testing information and results. School and conference legal and risk management personnel should identify and adequately address any applicable federal and state privacy requirements beyond the consents provided by officials.
• Consider leveraging the dashboard to automate delivery of daily health-related questions to officials and to monitor, manage and document real-time responses. School and conference legal and risk management personnel should identify and adequately address any applicable federal and state privacy requirements, beyond the consents provided by officials, that may result from these activities.
• NCAA and conference access will be consistent with the scope of the consents provided by the officials.

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SEC names new coordinator of officials for men's basketball

Southeastern Conference basketball fans will be glad to hear this news, the league has a new coordinator of officials for men’s basketball.

With the SEC spending more resources on basketball in recent seasons, the conference has proven it can produce elite level college basketball but the downside of that recognition has come in the form of poor officiating in recent seasons. The SEC hopes to correct that issue moving forward with a new coordinator of officials.

On Tuesday, the SEC named 24-year college basketball officiating veteran and three-time Final Four official Mike Eades as the new coordinator of officials for men’s basketball.

If you are unfamiliar with the job description for a coordinator of officials, Eades will be assigned the responsibility of selecting, training, evaluating, and assigning officials for SEC contests.

Eades has worked Final Fours in 2015, 2016 and 2017. During his lengthy officiating career, Eades has worked games in the SEC, ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, American, Atlantic 10 and Big South conferences and Colonial Athletic Association.

Following the news, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey issued this statement:

“Mike Eades will bring nearly a quarter of a century of men’s basketball officiating experience and knowledge to the SEC’s officiating program. Mike has experienced success as an on-court official at the highest levels of college basketball and he has developed relationships during his career that will be beneficial in supporting the men’s basketball officiating program of the SEC.”

Eades is a graduate of Bluefield (WV) State College.

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Southern Conference

Men's Basketball 5/6/2020 12:30:00 PM

SoCon joins SEC men’s basketball officiating consortium

Mike eades will serve as socon’s coordinator of officials.

American Athletic Conference

• Title Coordinator of Men’s Basketball Officiating

Rochester's Jeffrey Anderson to officiate tonight's NCAA championship: 3 things to know

West Henrietta's Jeffrey Anderson is set to officiate tonight's national championship game.

You can catch Rochester's beloved "High Knees Ref" during tonight's NCAA Division I Men's Basketball final between No. 1 Kansas (33-6) and No. 8 North Carolina (29-9) at 9:20 p.m. on TBS.

This marks Anderson's second time officiating an NCAA final, and his fifth Final Four appearance since officiating Division I games 21 years ago.

Here are three things to know about the former Section V ref:

1. Jeffrey Anderson has Rochester roots

Anderson, 54, graduated from Franklin High School in 1985.

His officiating career began in 1997, where he worked CYO, AAU and Boys and Girls Club games in the Rochester area.

Anderson moved up the chain, calling Section V, junior college and NCAA Division III games before getting his first Division I shot reffing Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference games in 2002.

In 2019, the Rochester Press Radio-Club presented Anderson its Elliot Cushing Award, which is given to a local resident succeeding on the national level.

Anderson is also still involved with Board 60 of the Rochester District Basketball Officials.

2. Referee Jeffrey Anderson has a March Madness history

Anderson was one of 11 people chosen to officiate this year's Final Four, which is being played at the Caesar’s Superdome in New Orleans.

Ron Groover and Terry Oglesby are set to join Anderson on the officiating crew tonight.

Anderson has already officiated three other March Madness games this season. He was last assigned to an Elite Eight game, when No. 2 Villanova defeated No. 5 Houston 50-44.

In 2017, Anderson called his first Final Four. His first shot at officiating a national championship game came the following year, when No. 1 Villanova defeated No. 3 Michigan 79-62 in 2018.

3. Jeffrey Anderson is the "High Knees Ref"

If you are not familiar with Anderson by name, perhaps you've seen one of his viral videos.

Anderson has gone viral on social media for his reffing style, specifically the way he runs up and down sidelines with his knees to his chest, which sparked the name of his Twitter fan page, @highkneesref .

It's not only his running style that has made Anderson popular on social media. The Rochester ref shows enthusiasm on his calls, whether he's firmly pointing toward a baseline to indicate change of possession or swinging his arm to the ground on a buzzer beating basket.

And if you happen to catch Anderson in public, you may be lucky enough to grab a photo-op.

Email Marquel Slaughter at [email protected] and follow his Twitter @MarquelSports. Sign up for our high school sports newsletter .

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NCAA staff | March 30, 2022

Ncaa division i women's basketball committee names game officials for 2022 women's final four.

INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee has approved the 11 game officials recommended by Penny Davis, the national coordinator of officiating, to work Friday’s two national semifinal games and Sunday’s national championship game. A three-person crew will work each Women’s Final Four game, while two officials will serve as the standby officials for all three contests.

The NCAA has notified these 11 individuals that they have been selected to work the 2022 Women’s Final Four, which will be played at the Target Center in New Minneapolis:

• Melissa Barlow, Las Vegas, Nevada
• Tiffany Bird, Bountiful, Utah
• Gina D. Cross, Clearwater, Florida
• Maj Kazuko Forsberg, Honolulu, Hawaii
• Dee Kantner, Charlotte, North Carolina
• Michael McConnell, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Michol Murray, Chandler, Arizona
• Kevin Pethtel, Fairmont, West Virginia
• Pualani Spurlock-Welsh, Greenville, Pennsylvania
• Angelica Suffren, Atlanta, Georgia
• Joseph Vaszily, Westfield, New Jersey

“Only 11 officials of the roughly 800 across women’s Division I women’s basketball gain this honor, and 116 are selected to work the national tournament,” said Davis. “Our tournament pool of officials has put forth many great performances throughout the rounds leading up to our Final Four. These 11 officials were extremely impressive throughout the tournament, and are not only equipped, but also very deserving of the honor to work on the biggest stage in women’s basketball. They are the example of the standards that all officials should aspire. I have the utmost confidence in each of them and am thrilled for their selection.”

LIVE UPDATES: Follow the entire tournament from start to finish

Kantner will be officiating her 25th Women’s Final Four, while Barlow has been selected for a tenth time. This will be the ninth time for Vaszily and fifth for Forsberg. McConnell, Cross and Murray will be officiating for a third time and this will make a second selection for Spurlock-Welsh. This will be the first Women’s Final Four for Bird, Suffren and Pethtel.

Friday’s first semifinal features the Greensboro regional champion and overall No. 1 seed South Carolina facing off with No. 1 seed and Wichita regional champion Louisville. Both South Carolina and Louisville are making their fourth appearances in the Women’s Final Four. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. central time. The second semifinal game, which is scheduled to tip at 9:30 p.m., will feature No. 1 seed, Spokane regional champion and defending national champion Stanford against No. 2 seed and Bridgeport regional champion UConn. The game will mark a record-setting 22nd appearance for the Huskies and a 15th showing for the Cardinal. Both games will be shown on ESPN.

The officiating assignments for each semifinal game, as well as Sunday night’s national championship game, will be announced three hours before each game.

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Candid Coaches: Who is the best referee in college basketball?

We have the names you need to know, and acc officials dominate voting among our coaches.

CBS Sports college basketball writers Gary Parrish, Matt Norlander and Reid Forgrave spent much of July on the road in cities across the country, covering the live recruiting periods. While there, and in the weeks since, they've surveyed coaches for our annual Candid Coaches series. They polled everyone from head coaches at elite programs to assistants at some of the smallest schools in Division I. In exchange for complete anonymity, coaches give unfiltered honesty about a number of topics in the sport. This is week No. 2 of our results to questions posed to more than 100 coaches.

One of the interesting dynamics in sports is how coaches deal with game officials. Styles vary, from the combative to the cynical, from butt-kissing to aggressive. Some coaches tick like a time bomb, using officials' behavior as means to motivate their players, while others treat officials with an entirely different demeanor from how they interact with their players. 

College basketball coaches, on the whole, have an undeniably aggressive mindset toward officials. Watch an NBA game and the difference is glaring. How often do you see an NBA coach attempt to scold a referee or find himself ejected after getting T'd up? Rarely. But on any given college hoops weekend, you're likely to see a coach (or coaches) somewhere on the wrong end of a tech. College coaches, for whatever reason, have conditioned themselves to be more outspoken and pugnacious with referees than their NBA counterparts.

College coaches, by their admission, can become caricatures of themselves when game time arrives. Refs often are on the most exaggerated end of that behavior. And yet, in the heart of the offseason, the coaches we surveyed had plenty to say and lots of respect to throw at a number of officials. That was refreshing (get back to us come mid-February).

With that in mind, we asked more than 100 college basketball coaches: 

Who is the best referee in college basketball?

Quotes that stood out

On Roger Ayers ...

• "He has good communications. He'll usually give you a chance to talk to him. You have to respect that. No one's perfect, and he'll admit when [he is] right or wrong. And he does a great job reffing big games."
• "He has a great demeanor, and he's a great communicator. He can move. He has a healthy ego but he's not an egomaniac."
• "He doesn't have a combative demeanor at all. He'll say, 'Hey, sorry, got that wrong' if it's clear he got something wrong. And he doesn't really ever try to make it about him. There are so many of those guys. If they get a call wrong and a coach gets on them, then they'll be shell-shocked or they go the other way on you."
• "I think that he's fair, communicates well and is a great play-caller. What I mean by that: I don't care about managing the game. I want a guy that gets the plays right. He works hard at that. Communication is part of managing the game, so they have to communicate with you, so you don't feel any tension with the way he communicates with you. I think he's the best in the game.
• "Roger Ayers. I might have given it to Mike Eades, but after that championship game performance ... "

On Mike Eades ...

• "He's done a ton of high-level games. He has a great on-court demeanor. I've seen opposing coaches 'motherf---' him, and he doesn't jump off deep end and immediately give guys a technical. He understands basketball and how things flow together. In an off night he may work A-10 games, but he's not looking down on those guys. He's still busting his butt and pouring into the game. He's also willing to have a conversation in between dead balls, timeouts. Some guys only talk to head coaches, not assistants. If you have legit questions, he'll explain."
• "I felt sorry for him -- he had a terrible [national] championship game, but he is very level-headed and communicates well with coaches. This is a very underrated part of being a great official, in my opinion."
• "I think you know you're going to get a fair shot, whether you're home or away. The moment's not too big for him in my opinion. Experienced guy. Doesn't give you the big-time stuff. He's a big-time guy and he never big-times you. You don't expect the out-of-nowhere technical foul when you jump his ass at the end of the game and it's as four-point game. If you do that with some guys, the game's over. I've seen plenty who I do think are good officials and have popped guys in those situations. Moment is too big for them."

"Nowadays it's more personality, more than calls made right or wrong. It's the refs who don't have agenda. A ref who doesn't let his own ego get in the way. Every ref is going to make good and bad calls, but his personality doesn't get in the way. He's out there reffing the game."

On Ted Valentine ...

• "He's so crazy. He's a little long in the tooth, and he's one of the of five best officials of all time, in my opinion, and we've had him a lot. I've had Crazy Ted, I've had Ted on his best nights. He doesn't anticipate anything. He sees the play through, and is going to give you a fair shake. Does not matter who you are playing. To this day I think he's terrific. Now, has he burned some bridges? Probably. But the guy can still manage a game and the stuff that comes along with it."
• "The game never gets too big, intense or even remotely out of control with him. He does not get swayed, home or road. He takes great pride in his ability, conditioning and awareness. He provides reminders throughout the game to players about the line they are close to foul-wise -- and that's something that doesn't happen nearly enough."
• "He's obviously a showman of all showmen. My opinion, he's enjoying the camera and wants to be the show. But we had him once last year, and maybe in the last five years we've had him three times. But I'd lean toward him because he's given us a fair shake against high-major programs every time he's had us. Whether he has something against the other coach, which he certainly could, I don't care because he's giving us a fair shake." 

On Verne Harris ...

• "He's strong, for one. He's got a high level of concentration, two. He understands the game really, really well, three. I think he's in good shape, four. And he's a great communicator, five. Those are the five things that come to mind to make a great ref."
• "He talks to the kids and the coaches, and I don't see him get too emotional and respond when a coach responds too emotionally to him: 'That's a foul!' Sometimes they respond in same way. His thing is to come over, say, 'Hey, I'm only going to listen if you talk to me instead of yell at me.'"

On John Higgins ... 

• "I think he's fair. I think he lets the players dictate the game. I think that he's not influenced by any coach. I don't think any coach intimidates him. If you see where he's at every year, you see he's almost always in the Final Four. Like him, don't like him, I think he's the fairest and absolutely the most consistent official."
• "There's some guys out there, John Higgins -- don't get me started."

On Mike Stephens ...

• "He has a great demeanor, and he's a great communicator. He can move. He has a healthy ego but he's not an ego-maniac."

Some top-of-the-resumé information about the poll's big winners:

• Ayers: 11 NCAA Tournaments; seven Sweet 16s; one Elite Eight; two Final Fours (one as an alternate) 
• Eades: 12 NCAA Tournaments: four Sweet 16s; five Elite Eights; four Final Fours (one as alternate) 
• Valentine: 28 NCAA Tournaments: 16 Sweet 16s; nine Elite Eights; 10 Final Fours 
• Harris: 20 NCAA Tournaments: 8 Sweet 16s; seven Elite Eights; nine Final Fours 
• Higgins: 20 NCAA Tournaments: nine Sweet 16s; eight Elite Eights; eight Final Fours (one as alternate) 
• Stephens: 10 NCAA Tournaments; three Sweet 16s; five Elite Eights; five Final Fours 

All these officials are crew chiefs, and all work the biggest conferences, so it makes sense they would get the most votes. Top-notch officials, for the most part, are not tucked away in small conferences whose games are not on television. It takes years of work to build up a reputation as one of the best, and even if some the names are hated by certain fan bases, these guys are considered elite at their craft for a reason. There are approximately 950 Division I men's basketball officials. The six names listed above represent the top 0.63 percent.

"I guess I got them fooled," Ayers joked, when reached for his reaction to the vote. 

Ayers not only won the poll, but his name was broached by coaches who picked a different No. 1. Ayers has been a Division I official since 1998, and said he's still never worked a perfect game. 

"It's actually a huge surprise," Ayers said. "But to me, I look at it as: when I started reffing in 1995, the high school commissioner told me, 'Kid, if you want to make it at the highest level, you have to learn how to communicate with coaches.' "

Ayers, a lifelong resident of Roanoke, Va., flirted with making the move to the NBA in 2002 after the league invited him to try out. He worked in the Developmental League for a year, but decided his ultimate goal was to one day work a Final Four. Plus, he said he prefers the college game. 

"To hear this, it's a tribute to a lot of people who have helped me," Ayers said. 

Ayers has the data to back up coaches' claims, too. In January, college hoops stats guru Ken Pomeroy declared Ayers the best in the game . Ayers got into officiating on a whim. He was a food broker at a grocery store while in his 20s, when one of his coworkers asked him to help him work four rec games for $50. 

"I had no clue what I was doing," Ayers said. "Every parent was yelling at me, but at the end of the night I fell in love with it. When I started I was out of shape, didn't read the rule books. Now, it's of course the opposite."

Ayers, 52, was reached by phone fresh off a yoga workout, and said he's physically active almost every day. He estimates that he works approximately 85 games a season, including the NCAA Tournament, 

"I'm getting goosebumps talking about," Ayers said. "I can't wait for November 10. I'm ready to go tonight."

Coaches said Ayers is humble and treats every team and coach with the same amount of respect. That, plus his willingness to admit when he's messed up goes a long way -- and one particular screw-up of his that still sticks with him. 

Jan. 5, 2012 -- the infamous six-men-on-the-floor ending.  Louisiana-Lafayette won in OT against WKU after it got away with six men on the court on the winning possession. The next day, Western Kentucky fired coach Ken McDonald. Ayers stayed in the locker room two hours after that game and couldn't eat that night because he was sick. His phone blew up with colleagues alerting him to the fact he was continually on  SportsCenter . 

"It still eats at me to this day," Ayers said. "I took the heat because I was the crew chief. I didn't see the sixth player on the court. Not only did they have six players on the court, but the next morning WKU fired their head coach, and I have to live with that. I remember, I'm embarrassed to say it, but at NC State I stopped a game before a throw-in. They only had five, but I stopped play because I'm so paranoid now. If i could ever see that coach, I would love to apologize. I didn't do it on purpose. I'm still choked up about it, and I'm better than that. It will be with me until I retire." 

Ayers, Eades and Valentine represent more than 50 percent of the vote, which speaks to the strength of ACC officiating. Coaches noted that the ACC has a reputation for being the strongest league, not only with regard to crew chiefs, but crews on the whole. The Big Ten, conversely, has the weakest reputation when compared to the ACC, Big East, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC.

 "At the end of the day, coaches have to buy your act," Ayers said. "You have to fool those coaches into believing they can trust you. Work your butt off, run hard, talk to coaches, and officials need to realize is it is not about us. ...  It's a difficult job, fast-paced, but I love what I do. I love what the coaches have to say about me, it's very flattering, but that's all good and fine here in August."

By mid-February, it will be a different story. To paraphrase one coach: The answer I give you now I can almost guarantee will not be the answer I'd give you in the middle of the season. 

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NCAA Basketball Academy

Current NCAA college basketball officials will work the 2023 College Basketball Academies, officiating games in the Team Pathway (U.S. Open Basketball Championships) and Individual Pathway of the event. 

The Academies will serve as a developmental opportunity for selected officials. Training will focus on mechanics, communication, leadership, play calling, and more. There will be 16 clinicians that will serve as evaluators throughout the week for both the Men’s Academy and Women’s Academy. This group will consist of current Division I Officials and the NCAA Regional Advisors. 

Officiating Selection Details: Men’s Academy (July 24 to July 27, 2023): There will be a total of 144 officials invited to officiate the Men's Academy: 72 Division I, 48 Division II, and 24 Division III officials. Officials will be selected by the National Coordinator of Officials at each level — Chris Rastatter (DI), John Blazek (DII) and Jim Haney (DIII) — with input from each conference coordinator. 

Interested officials can complete the Officiating Form, which went live in RefQuest on Wednesday, May 17, 2023, and will be sent to all Division I, II and III officials. The deadline to submit the Officiating Form is Friday, June 2, 2023 , at 11:59 p.m. ET. 

Invitations for selected officials will be sent on or before Monday, June 5 . Men’s Academy officials should arrive by 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 23. Registration will take place at 4:00 p.m., and the opening meeting will begin at 5:00 p.m. Departure can be scheduled for mid to late afternoon on Thursday, July 27. 

Officiating Selection Details: Women’s Academy (July 28 to July 31, 2023): There will be a total of 144 officials invited to officiate the Women's Academy: 72 Division I, 48 Division II, and 24 Division III officials. Officials will be selected by the National Coordinator of Officials at each level — Penny Davis (DI), Connie Perkins (DII), and Mary Toberman (DIII) — with input from conference coordinators. 

Interested officials must be nominated by their conference coordinators. Interested officials should reach out to their conference coordinators, who will then provide them with a link to complete the registration process. The deadline is Friday, June 2, 2023. 

Invitations for selected officials will be sent on Monday, June 12. Selected Women's Academy officials should arrive by 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 27 and may depart after their last assignment. 

Please note: High school basketball referees are not eligible to officiate games at the 2023 College Basketball Academies. This opportunity is exclusively for current Division I, Division II, or Division III basketball officials.

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Sun Belt joins basketball officiating consortium - Southeastern Conference

Sun belt joins basketball officiating consortium.

The Sun Belt joins the men's basketball officiating consortium with the SEC, American and ASUN Conference,