How difficult is it to be a college football referee? Let’s find out how smart you are.
Officials are often the target of frustration for fans, especially after questionable or missed calls. But they aren’t noticed when they make the right call, which happens the vast majority of the time.
To give you a sense of the types of rulings officials have to know and deliver instantly, we’re letting you take an actual Ref Quiz.
Earlier this summer, I sat in on the Mountain West/Conference USA officiating clinic outside Dallas, led by former Big 12 referee Mike Defee, the coordinator of officials for both conferences. The clinic focused on standards, new rules, training tips and game logistics. It also included a multiple-choice quiz for the officials, featuring questions about various in-game situations. Other conferences hold similar clinics.
“The test is built to be a well-rounded test of the rule book to make sure they’ve spent time having a good working knowledge of it,” Defee said. “They’re required to pass it or they don’t get a schedule.”
A passing grade is 70 percent, and crew head referees are expected to score higher. All of the Mountain West and CUSA core officials passed it this year, Defee said, but a few developmental officials did not.
I myself was humbled with a 48 percent score when I took the quiz at the clinic, so you won’t see me on the field. The original quiz was 27 questions, but we’ve narrowed it down to 15. We’ve also clarified some language to make the game situations easier to understand. Let’s see if you’re smart enough to be a college football official.
(Note: Readers who are using our app on an Android device may need to use two fingers to scroll through the quiz. Still unable to get the survey? Try this direct link.)
(Photo: Ron Jenkins / Getty Images)
