High School Football: ‘We owe it to the fans, players and coaches’ (2024)

STARKVILLE — A 2022 study by the National Federation of State High School Associations found that 50,000 referees registered in 2018 and 2019 nationwide did not continue working after the coronavirus pandemic put a stop to almost all high school sports in 2020-21. Football was particularly affected due to the number of officials needed to form a crew.

At one point, area assignor Loren “Bo” Bell had 16 crews he could rely on, and that number has fallen to 11 now. If Bell is short a few officials for one week he can generally depend on other assignors to lend him some officials, but the method of spreading games out has also become a regular practice.

“That’s the big one,” he said of having more Thursday night games to address the shortage. “It’s still an ongoing process and we’re working with our schools and athletic directors to make sure we can cover enough games, and our neighbor assignors have been helpful as well.”

Bell spoke about his experience officiating at a Starkville Kiwanis Club meeting this week. He’s been an official in high school football for nearly 40 years and has remained an important part of the area’s high school football over an accomplished career that includes multiple state title games for high school and junior college.

He remarked on the number of issues that have hindered the officiating of high school football games, but also gave a note of positivity on the young referees who have joined in 2023 and 2024 with the season a little more than two months away.

Bell cited a more recent survey by the federation that measured the experiences of more than 35,000 high school officials in 2023.

“68% noted that sportsmanship was in decline, and I’m surprised it was that low of a number,” he said. “And 69% felt that officiating was worse, and that’s coming from officials.”

The statistics supported a theme present throughout his speech, that it takes a little more from everyone involved to improve the situation. There needs to be more respect from players and coaches, but there needs to be better implementation of rules and communication on the part of officials.

The conditions of working while withstanding verbal abuse from fans, players, and coaches coupled with the need for younger referees to replace aging officials has exacerbated the shortage of referees across all sports. In the same survey, 50% of officials feared for their personal safety at some point in their careers, and 12% reported actual physical abuse from incidents.

Despite the increase in pressure, Bell did note that he’s been able to retain more officials who started out in the last two years. He estimated 8-10 would be returning from last year to help balance out the experienced officials in crews.

“We’re excited about this year,” he said, “and hopefully we continue to get young people involved and retain the old heads.”

There are plenty of assignments to go around with 79% of officials reporting an increase in assignments, but 59% also reported most officials quit within their first three years, so the focus on retention is important.

The shortage introduced several new problems for the MHSAA and referee assignors.

“A lot of people think it’s an easy thing and they get out there and realize they’re not mentally or physically ready for it. It’s one thing knowing the rules, but we have people who get out there and can’t apply it, or we’ve got some people who can apply it but don’t know the book. It takes a mix.”

Bell said an increase in clashes with players, coaches, and fans has been difficult to deal with, but the job is necessary for the sport. For him, it’s about supporting each other and focusing on the job at hand to keep the sport they love going.

“It’s about being a team,” he said. “You’ve got the offense and the defense, and then our team is all in stripes. We have to work together and be ready for everything mentally and physically. We owe it to the fans, players and coaches to be in the right place and implement the rules in the right way.”