The Zebras

[kcmsaluki12]

There is one call, which drives me nuts.

A defender is set and his feet are firm on the floor and not moving. His arms are straight vertically.

An offensive player has his back to the defender. The offensive player jumps up, spins to face the basket, puts up a shot and falls into the defender.

The defender does not move his feet and he does not move his arms from straight up vertical.

A foul is called on the defender almost every time.

What happened to the rule of "verticality", that Dickie V. used to talk about all the time?

Agreed, I hate that, and that's a foul I almost never see called in other leagues.

[BCPanther]

Anyway, if you think this is an issue take it up with the league office. They can ask officials to put priority on certain calls, or focus on calling the game in a certain way. It would not surprise me at all if the conference told refs to call fouls the way they do and perhaps favor the home overly much.

No they can't.

All points of emphasis and rules interpretations come directly from the national coordinator of officials. Officials are NCAA certified and owe nothing to any league or school that employs them on an independent contractor basis.

[DoubleJayAlum]

Anyway, if you think this is an issue take it up with the league office. They can ask officials to put priority on certain calls, or focus on calling the game in a certain way. It would not surprise me at all if the conference told refs to call fouls the way they do and perhaps favor the home overly much.

No they can't.

All points of emphasis and rules interpretations come directly from the national coordinator of officials. Officials are NCAA certified and owe nothing to any league or school that employs them on an independent contractor basis.

Of course, they don't owe anything to the leagues that hire them (other than calling the game). However, if they want to keep getting gigs, its probably a good idea to listen to a league office.

[CBB_Fan]

No they can't.

All points of emphasis and rules interpretations come directly from the national coordinator of officials. Officials are NCAA certified and owe nothing to any league or school that employs them on an independent contractor basis.

Not according to the MVC.

The MVC officials are aggressively trained and are held accountable for both their performance
and their judgment. Contests are carefully reviewed via a number of devices, including
videotape, coaches' reports, referee reports, on-site observations, etc.
Evaluations of officiating mechanics, rules interpretations and implementation, game
management and judgment are conveyed to the appropriate parties within the Conference
infrastructure via established administrative procedures.

Sounds like the conference has quite a bit of say.

[pawball]

During the ISUblue-MSU game last night, the refs automatically called fouls on a defender guarding a player who was driving down the right side of the lane. I'd say 75% of the time that a foul was called that there was little or no contact, certainly not enough to warrant a whistle.

And then guys are jamming, holding, stinging each other as they battle through the lane areas, no calls whatsoever; then, a little bump, if that, out front, another whistle. The inconsistency is what's maddening.

Officiating BB is a bear, no doubt, but I've detected an attitude of King Tut among many refs in recent years, which I suppose is part of the persona you grow into when half the crowd thinks you got it right and the other half that you got it wrong.

[CBB_Fan]

During the ISUblue-MSU game last night, the refs automatically called fouls on a defender guarding a player who was driving down the right side of the lane. I'd say 75% of the time that a foul was called that there was little or no contact, certainly not enough to warrant a whistle.

And then guys are jamming, holding, stinging each other as they battle through the lane areas, no calls whatsoever; then, a little bump, if that, out front, another whistle. The inconsistency is what's maddening.

Officiating BB is a bear, no doubt, but I've detected an attitude of King Tut among many refs in recent years, which I suppose is part of the persona you grow into when half the crowd thinks you got it right and the other half that you got it wrong.

I agree on inconsistency. I don't care if refs blow their whistles at the slightest contact but I do care if they do not continue calling the same way the entire game. Set a precedent and stick to it.

[wsushox1]

Conferences absolutely and positively have a say in how their games are officiated. Heck its that way in HIgh School ball in KS!! The AVCTL wants their games called differently than the Wichita City League, it's a fact from a ref who works both league's mouth.

John Higgins is an excellent ref and I don't understand the flack he gets. Yes, he may miss a call, but not near the amount other people do. Scott Thornley is another one that I have been impressed with, as with Kelly Self. Now, WSU had a Big West ref the other night - Eric Curry - who was just not very good; clearly used to weak *** West Coast ball (there's a reason the Pac-12 is so bad).

[TylerDurden]

The conference doesn't tell the officials how to call a game.

Comparing HS basketball in KS to NCAA DI is laughable.

The piece quoted about officials being trained and evaluated is referencing national and conference programs used to evaluate officials. Every league uses similar programs. It's a performance review just like you have at your job. They're being evaluated by a thorough process that includes input from coaches, officials, officials observers, video and coordinators of officials. Folks give opinions about their performance and the MVC coordinator of officials discusses those evaluations with the coaches and officials and reports out to the league office. The have a pretty detailed process at the end of the season and discuss officials at their meetings during the off-season.

The coaches' input is highly valued in this process. Often times officials who fans think are terrible, the coaches really like.

The quote is conveying that officials are accountable for their performance (do they use the right mechanics, do they apply the rules correctly, etc.) - not that they are told how to call a game. Huge difference.

[CBB_Fan]

The conference doesn't tell the officials how to call a game.

Comparing HS basketball in KS to NCAA DI is laughable.

The piece quoted about officials being trained and evaluated is referencing national and conference programs used to evaluate officials. Every league uses similar programs. It's a performance review just like you have at your job. They're being evaluated by a thorough process that includes input from coaches, officials, officials observers, video and coordinators of officials. Folks give opinions about their performance and the MVC coordinator of officials discusses those evaluations with the coaches and officials and reports out to the league office. The have a pretty detailed process at the end of the season and discuss officials at their meetings during the off-season.

The coaches' input is highly valued in this process. Often times officials who fans think are terrible, the coaches really like.

The quote is conveying that officials are accountable for their performance (do they use the right mechanics, do they apply the rules correctly, etc.) - not that they are told how to call a game. Huge difference.

I have no idea how you can read what I posted and still have that opinion. It says right in the place I quoted:

"Evaluations of officiating mechanics, rules interpretations and implementation, game
management and judgment are conveyed to the appropriate parties within the Conference."

I don't see how that can be misinterpreted. The conference evaluates the referees based on their views on the implementation of rules. Those views may or may not be consistent with those of other conferences.

What they do NOT do is say:

"Make sure UNI beats Evansville today"
or
"Call a lot more fouls on Creighton than SIU"

Instead, the league has some say onto the specific interpretation of things like a block/charge foul, degree of contact allowed, and things like that. I believe the MVC sometimes has different interpretations of those rules compared to conferences like the B1G and Big 12, which explains the discrepancy between the reffing in those leagues (despite the fact that many refs work in the MVC, B1G, and sometimes Big 10).

[TylerDurden]

The conference doesn't tell the officials how to call a game.

Comparing HS basketball in KS to NCAA DI is laughable.

The piece quoted about officials being trained and evaluated is referencing national and conference programs used to evaluate officials. Every league uses similar programs. It's a performance review just like you have at your job. They're being evaluated by a thorough process that includes input from coaches, officials, officials observers, video and coordinators of officials. Folks give opinions about their performance and the MVC coordinator of officials discusses those evaluations with the coaches and officials and reports out to the league office. The have a pretty detailed process at the end of the season and discuss officials at their meetings during the off-season.

The coaches' input is highly valued in this process. Often times officials who fans think are terrible, the coaches really like.

The quote is conveying that officials are accountable for their performance (do they use the right mechanics, do they apply the rules correctly, etc.) - not that they are told how to call a game. Huge difference.

I have no idea how you can read what I posted and still have that opinion. It says right in the place I quoted:

"Evaluations of officiating mechanics, rules interpretations and implementation, game
management and judgment are conveyed to the appropriate parties within the Conference."

I don't see how that can be misinterpreted. The conference evaluates the referees based on their views on the implementation of rules. Those views may or may not be consistent with those of other conferences.

What they do NOT do is say:

"Make sure UNI beats Evansville today"
or
"Call a lot more fouls on Creighton than SIU"

Instead, the league has some say onto the specific interpretation of things like a block/charge foul, degree of contact allowed, and things like that. I believe the MVC sometimes has different interpretations of those rules compared to conferences like the B1G and Big 12, which explains the discrepancy between the reffing in those leagues (despite the fact that many refs work in the MVC, B1G, and sometimes Big 10).

You can believe what you wish to believe, but you're wrong. It's not my opinion.