SUWANEE, Ga. -- The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) is celebrating “Officials’ Appreciation Week” along with all other Division III and Division II conferences throughout the 2023-24 academic year. This year marks the second year of this initiative adopted by the Division III Commissioners Association (DIIICA) to recognize and thank conference officials across all sports.
Officials' Appreciation Week will be celebrated during the fall, winter and spring sport seasons. To kick off the year, the fall celebration will take place from October 2nd – October 9th followed by January 22nd – January 28th for winter and April 1st – April 7th for spring.
The commitment of SCAC officials and referees to safe, fair and competitive contests is a critical part of the student-athlete experience. Often overlooked and underappreciated is the amount of time, effort and dedication our officials give back to support their sports and our student-athletes.
"Officials play a vital role in everything we do in collegiate sports," said SCAC Commissioner Dwayne Hanberry. "Without an official to referee a game there is no game."
"Every player and coach in our league is doing what he or she does because they love their sport. For the great majority of our officials, they are pursuing officiating for the very same reason - it provides a mechanism to give back and be involved in a sport they love in a meaningful way."
Officials' Appreciation Week is one of numerous initiatives that are being implemented as part of the Division III Commissioners Association (DIIICA) Strategic Plan for Collegiate Officiating that was created as a result of the DIIICA's Strategic Analysis of the State of Collegiate Officiating. In conjunction with the NCAA and the National Association of Sports Officials (NASO), there is an urgent need for sports officials, if interested please visit the NCAA's Say Yes to Officiating platform to learn more.
Officiating is at a crisis level due to a declining pool affected by the advancing age of current officials and the lack of interest or incentive among younger populations to enter or remain in the field. The time is now to address this disturbing trend and head off a serious threat to college (and high school and youth) sports. NCAA athletics events cannot be conducted without quality officials, and it is unwise to assume that the problem will resolve itself without a collaborative and collective commitment.
The SCAC hopes to help in their efforts to combat the current officiating crisis. If you are interested in becoming an official, please click on one of the links below to get started:
