The Infiltration of the NCAA

As listed in the previous post, a number of NFL officials also serve as supervisors or assistant supervisors of officials for NCAA conferences:

• Walt Anderson (R) is the supervisor of officials for the Big 12 and CFO West, which controls the Mountain West and Southland conferences
• Byron Boston (LJ) is the supervisor of officials for the Southland Conference
• Gary Cavaletto (FJ) is the assistant supervisor for side judges for the Pac-12
• Carl Cheffers (R) is the assistant supervisor for referees for the Pac-12
• Tony Corrente (R) is the supervisor of officials for the Pac-12
• Garth DeFelice (U) is the assistant supervisor for umpires for the Pac-12
• Terry McAulay (R) is the coordinator of football officials for the Big East
• John Hussey (LJ) is the assistant supervisor for line judges for the Pac-12
• Rob Vernatchi (BJ) is the assistant supervisor for field judges for the Pac-12

However, there has been an even greater annexation of the control of collegiate officiating by the NFL. In addition to the current NFL officials who work with the NCAA, there are also some retired NFL officials who run football officiating for Division 1 Conferences. Here is a list:

• Gerald Austin--former NFL official and supervisor of officials for Conference USA [1]
• Jim Blackwood--former NFL replay official and supervisor of officials for the WAC [2]
• Bill Carollo--former NFL official and supervisor of officials for the Big 10, Mid-American Conference, and the Missouri Valley Conference [3]
• Doug Toole--former NFL official and supervisor of officials for the Big Sky [4]

Before the early 2000s, the supervision of the NCAA Division 1 officials typically was handled by former collegiate officials. So what changed? What caused this sudden encroachment into the NCAA by NFL officials?

Beyond the obvious reason of money, there was a more exploitative cause and it started with the 2001 NFL officials' lockout. During the lockout, replacement officials were hired and used, most of them culled from the ranks of Division 1 football. During the 2001 lockout, the NFL officials reached out to their Division counterparts and asked them not to work as replacements but, ultimately, they had no control over the collegiate officials' decisions. Their subsequent willingness to work as replacements--and the fact that they were able to do the job at least at successfully as the existing NFL officials, with no consequences bestowed from their collegiate conferences for working as replacements--showed the NFL officials that they could not allow Division 1 football officials to be eligible to cross the picket line.

The way to prevent any future Division 1 officials from working as replacements was to become the supervisors of the college officials in some of the top conferences in the NCAA. In this recent lockout, no calls were made to Division 1 officials about not serving as replacements because there was no need for it; the fear of dismissal came solely in the names of their bosses.

This is also why I, someone who has no professional affiliation with these conferences anymore, am the only one that can speak about the NFL infiltration without fear of reprisal.

Even the so-called training ground for NFL officiating, the Arena Football League, is under NFL-related control: the supervisor of officials for the AFL is Carl Paganelli, Sr., the father of the three Paganelli brothers who currently serve as officials in the NFL [5]. Paganelli has already cancelled the schedules of at least two officials who decided to work as NFL replacements.

By creating a collegiate officiating system where they govern, the NFL officials have ensured their own necessity by controlling the talent pool from which the NFL can pull replacement officials. This would be akin to the Teamsters limiting the pool of potential replacements, leaving only 14-year-olds to drive. No other union has ever had as much power as the 119 men of the NFLRA.

Sources
[1] "Austin Without Limits": http://www.referee.com/more/Samples/non_subscribers0908/austin.html
[2] "Jim Blackwood": http://www.wacsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10100&ATCLID=1580262
[3] "People You'll Meet": http://www.wacsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10100&ATCLID=1580262
[4] "Staff Directory--Doug Toole": http://www.bigskyconf.com/staff.aspx?staff=9
[5] "Carl Paganelli Sr. hired as Arena Football League's supervisor of officials": http://www.mlive.com/sports/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2011/01/carl_paganelli_sr_hired_as_are.html