Sunday, June 22

8:00 - 8:20 a.m. — "Brave New World"

What has changed most in officiating? In a word, scrutiny. Virtually every game now played is being recorded and played back by someone. Barry Mano, NASO founder and president, will note the trends and give you insights based on his 28 years of observing sports officiating in action.

Goals:

• Establish timeline/history of relevance of accountability in officiating

• Answer the question: Why has society’s intolerance of mistakes carried over into sports officiating?

• Address how technology is both friend and foe.

8:25 - 9:15 a.m. — "The Buck Stops Here: Principles of Accountability"

Jerry McGee, Wingate University president and ACC football official establishes the base for the conference with his dissection of "accountability." What are the classic principles of accountability and how do they intersect our lives as officials?

Goals:

• Answer the question: What are the universal tenets of accountability?

• Are these principles set in stone or can time and circumstance change them?

• Set up your perspective of accountability as both someone who holds others accountable (President of Wingate University and as someone who is held accountable by others (Atlantic Coast Conference football official).

9:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. — "Code of Conduct: What Now?"

NASO and the Officiating Development Alliance developed a code of conduct that can help individual officials and their organization maintain high standards. We’ll deal with the practical challenges of implementing a code of conduct. Mary Struckhoff, assistant director of the NFHS, will lead the way.

Goals:

• Explain the Officiating Development Alliances recommended Code of Conduct

• Provide 7-10 principles that would cause officials to adopt a Code of Conduct

• Following a breakout session, get each of the 7-10 groups to develop five implementation tactics that their association could use to ensure that officials adopt the Code of Conduct

11:00 a.m. – Noon — "It’s a Two-Way Street"

Howard Mayo, Portland Basketball Officials Association commissioner; Bill Topp, Referee Magazine editor; Jack Roberts, Michigan High School Athletic Association executive director; moderator, Jeff Stern, Referee associate editor

Officials are often reminded of their responsibilities to "the game." But what responsibilities does the game owe to officials? With NASO’s Covenant With Sports Officials, several panelists will address that question and make a case that organizations and individuals that assign, evaluate or require the use of officials to commit to specific responsibilities.

Goals:

• There are some that say the Game owes something to officials. Who is the Game?

• Develop three strategies for implementing a Covenant

• What recourse does an official or association have when the Game does not live up to the Covenant they accepted?

1:30 – 2:30 p.m. — "Game Accountability"

Jerry Seeman, former NFL senior director of officiating and NASO Board member; Randy Christal, NASO Board vice chair and Major college baseball and football official; Esse Baharmast, USSF director of advanced and international referee development and NASO Board member; Larry Boucher, Kentucky High School Athletic Association assistant commissioner; moderator, Jerry Grunska, Referee freelance writer

Panelists and moderator discuss the importance of ensuring contests are played by the rules, while emphasizing fairness and safety, and doing so in a manner that enhances the stature of sports officiating. How is an official held accountable to that standard on the field?

Goals:

• Answer the question: Should on-field mistakes be treated differently based on game context (time of game, regular season vs. playoffs, score at time of incident)?

• Answer the question: To what standard should officials be accountable (what are the minimum and maximum requirements?)

• Answer the question: How does accountability affect the performance of the on-field official?

2:45 – 3:30 p.m. — "Great Ways to Reward Sports Officials"

Bill Topp, Referee editor and multi-sport official, helps us build a list of rewards that recognizes achievement at every level within an association and goes well beyond an assignment to the championship game.

Goals:

• Describe how rewards bring the accountability issue full circle

• Define ways other than monetary, game assignments, or merchandise that reward officials who meet the accountability standard

• Does the criteria for a reward vary based on experience level and similar factors?

3:45 – 5:00 p.m. — "Let’s Take Another Look"

Barry Mano, NASO and Referee Enterprises, Inc. founder and president, Referee magazine publisher; Mike Pereira, NFL director of officiating; Dwight Jaynes, Portland Tribune president; Hank Zaborniak, Ohio High School Athletic Association assistant director and NASO Board member-elect; J.A. Adande, reporter for The Los Angeles Times; Danny Crawford, NBA referee and NASO Board member-elect; moderator, Bob Still, NASO communications and development manager.

Panelists discuss how the media plays a critical role in how officiating is perceived. This power-packed session will "instant replay" some of the key dynamics behind the media’s scrutiny of officiating performance.

Goals:

• Answer the question: What can be done to educate the media about officiating?

• Answer the question: How does the gag rule harm or help the cause of officiating?

• Answer the question: Should dealing with the media be a part of officiating training?

Monday, June 23

7:00 – 7:45 a.m. — "Keep Up with the Pace of the Game"

Steven Keating and Bill Russell of AllSports Officiating will show you how many officiating performance variables can be captured and used to evaluate, train and test officials.

Goals:

• Provide the key elements sports leagues/conferences can incorporate into their officiating programs to improve accountability and to ensure a statistically rigorous, defensible and non-political evaluation process.

• Highlight the AllSports Officiating Performance Index (API), a reliable measure sports leagues/conferences can use to identify and train officiating excellence.

• Facilitate a discussion on how sports leagues/conferences can measure return on investment for their officiating evaluation programs.

7:50 – 8:15 a.m. — "NASO’s Vision in Action"

Bob Still, NASO’s communications and development manager, shows how association leaders can implement NASO’s many programs to recruit and retain new officials, enhance the image of their association via community relations programs and, in general, put their associations on a glidepath for success.

Goals:

• Explain NASO’s mission and strategy

• Share how the public relations strategy intertwines with all aspects of the vision

• Empower members to support program and to put the vision in action at the local level

8:20 – 9:30 a.m. — "24/7/365"

Bill Saum, NCAA director of agent, gambling and amateurism activities; Bob Gardner, NFHS chief operating officer; Stu Jackson, NBA senior vice president of basketball operations; Julie Ilacqua, USSF managing director of federation services and former NASO chair; moderator, Tom Herre, Referee Enterprises, Inc. vice president

Does an official’s private life affect the status of that official’s assignments as long as there has been no noticeable falloff in officiating performance? Who decides and what are the principles that apply? Join moderator Tom Herre and his group of panelists for answers.

Goals:

• Establish the principles that apply to setting standards for the off-the-field conduct of officials

• Establish the practical guidelines for determining if an official has violated applicable standards for off-the-field conduct

• Establish practical guidelines for determining consequences for unfavorable off-the-field conduct of officials

9:45 – 11:00 a.m. —"Disciplining Officials — a Guide"

Bill Carollo, Professional Football Referees Association president; Marcy Weston, NCAA Women’s Basketball National Coordinator and NASO chair; Marc Ratner, Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director and NASO Board member; Steve Ellinger, Texas Association of Sports Officials assistant executive director; moderator, Jeff Stern, Referee associate editor.

Few topics spark more emotion than that of determining when it is appropriate to discipline an official. But what are the standards? And what about due process — who is the judge?

Goals:

• Answer the question: Is it possible or necessary to develop a set of accountability standards that apply to all levels?

• Establish who is best suited to determine the level of accountability after an incident

• Establish spectrum of disciplinary procedures with slap on the wrist on one end and death penalty on the other

11:15 a.m. – Noon — "A Better Way"

How can an association or league handle the fallout from an officiating error? Expert testimony is provided by Brian Berger, a public relations specialist.

Goals:

• Provide the key components of a crisis management plan

• Answer the question: Which is more important – expedience or thoroughness in disseminating information about an incident?

• Give two examples as case studies; one involving a mistake and how it was overcome, one involving a perceived mistake and how it was overcome

1:30 – 2:30 p.m. —"What Officials Want"

We touched on some issues earlier in our session on the Covenant With Sports Officials. Now let’s go further. Jim Arehart, Referee associate editor, takes the pulse of the audience.

Goals:

• Answer the question: What do officials want in terms of their relationships with institutions?

• Answer the question: What do officials want in terms of respect and rewards?

• Answer the question: What tools should be provided by institutions to help the official meet accountability standards?

2:45 – 3:30 p.m. — "Your Legal Rights and Responsibilities"

Are sports officials employees of those for whom they work games or not? Attorney/sports official Alan Goldberger has the answers. A special opportunity to get authoritative answers to vital questions.

Goals:

• Employee, independent contractor: describe the parameters and benefits of each to assigner and individual official.

• Answer the question: Do assigners have to treat employees and independent contractors the same?

• Provide an update on independent contractor law.

3:45 – 4:30 p.m. — "In Full View"

How can officials flourish and survive in today’s ultra-scrutinized world? Ed Rush, NBA director of officiating, offers his advice and draws the portrait of the modern ref.

Goals:

• Answer the question: Is the modern ref more or less accountable than the old-school ref?

• Answer the question: Why did it become necessary for the individual official to become regimented?

• Answer the question: Does the current level of accountability make it harder or easier to identify excellent officials?

Preceded by cocktails at 6:30 p.m., this highly energized banquet will honor NBA official Bob Delaney for his outstanding contributions to charitable causes as well as celebrate the profession.

In addition to the conference sessions, members of the NASO-initiated Officiating Development Alliance (ODA) will conduct two days of meetings on officiating issues beginning June 23 and concluding at noon on June 24. The ODA consists of the industry’s top officiating leaders from professional, collegiate and amateur athletics.

Photos available of speakers upon request.

Personal interviews may also be arranged by contacting NASO Communications Manager Bob Still at 262/632-5448 or via cell (262/914-5425).