NCAA Officiating Teams – Are They Fair?
August 10, 2008 by Allison Boyer
Filed under Football
Recent investigation show that there is no evidence that last year’s Big Ten games were compromised.
The investigation came about in the first place because referee Stephen Pamon became a point of controversy after his officiating teams were part of two very controversial games in 2008. Further investigation showed that he and his wife filed for bankruptcy in 2002, and two of the creditors listed were casinos. Family members told reporters that Pamon was a regular gambler, and his gambling debts even contributed to his bankruptcy.
This, of course, brings into question whether or not Pamon took part in sports betting. The two games in question were Penn State/Purdue and Illinois/Ohio State. Purdue coach Joe Tiller ended up filing an official complaint after that game. Sports betting analyst R.J. Bell reported that there was a disproportionate amount of money bet on the winning teams of both games. Others say this isn’t the case.
Under normal circumstances, Pamon probably wouldn’t have even been hired to officiate after his bankruptcy problems, but the Big Ten reports that they misinterpreted the bankruptcy on his credit report and never looked into it.
In any case, the good thing about this case is that the Big Ten has tightened up its hiring procedures for officials. Background checks will now be done annually on everyone (previously, they were only done for new hires and every few years at random for others). In addition, all officials will be required to disclose their gambling activities, even those unrelated to sports. They’ll be totally prohibited from gambling during football season. More time and money will also be spent on third-party background checks.
For the record, Pamon has maintained that he is innocent, and the Big Ten has found no evidence that he participated in any kind of illegal gambling or even any kind of sports betting at all.
I’m actually amazed that there don’t seem to be more problems with NCAA officials throwing games. I think that, for the most part, the conferences are all pretty fair. What do you think – is there a problem with NCAA officiating?
