Mel Narol Medallion Award
Recognizing Support for NASO
and its Mission to Support Sports Officials
The Mel Narol Medallion Award of the National Association of Sports Officials recognizes an individual or organization that has made significant contributions to NASO and, thus, supporting the betterment of sports officials and the officiating profession.
The Medallion Award is named after Mel Narol, longtime officiating legal advocate and NASO leader. Narol received the award posthumously in 2003 and the award was then renamed to honor him.
Selection Process
Members of the association may submit nomination letters to NASO headquarters. The NASO staff screens nominations and makes recommendations to the board of directors. The board of directors has final approval on the Medallion Award selection. The award need not be annual. More than one recipient may be awarded in any given year.
Criteria
The award recognizes an individual or organization that has made significant contributions to the betterment of the National Association of Sports Officials (NASO).
Contributions might include, but are not limited to:
- Organizational leadership
- Education and training
- Promotion of officiating and NASO
- Sponsorship
The NASO Board of Directors selects the recipient.
The award can be made posthumously.
History
The Medallion Award was created in 2000 to “recognize an individual or organization that has made significant contributions to the betterment of sports officials and the officiating profession.” In 2007, the criteria was changed to emphasize contributions to NASO.
Recipients are:
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- 2001 — Jerry Seeman, retired NFL senior director of officiating
- 2003 — Mel Narol (posthumously), the foremost authority on officiating legal issues
- 2004 — Fox 40 International, makers of the Fox 40 whistle
- 2005 — Dick Honig, owner of Honig’s Whistle Stop
- 2006 — Marcy Weston, retired national coordinator of NCAA women’s basketball officiating
- 2007 — Bill Kolbe, retired attorney, business and legal advisor for NASO
- 2008 — Ed T. Rush, retired NBA referee and supervisor of officials
- 2009 — Ronnie Carter, retired executive director for the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association
- 2010 — David Dodge, retired NCAA Division I men’s basketball official
- 2011 — Alan Goldberger, Sports law attorney and legal authority for game officials
- 2012 — Marriott Corporation, Longtime NASO partner and supporting organization to the officiating industry
- 2013 — Gary Whelchel, Commissioner of Officials for the Arizona Interscholastic Association
- 2014 — California Basketball Officials Association (CBOA), More than 3,700 officials are members of the only statewide basketball officials association in the state, from youth to semi-pro competition
- 2015 — Patty Viverito, Senior associate commissioner of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC)
- 2016 — Don Collins, Commissioner of the San Francisco Section of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF)
- 2017 — Drew Smith and American Specialty Insurance, providers of NASO’s insurance
- 2018 — Bob Kanaby, former Executive Director of the NFHS
- 2019 — Mike Pereira, NFL and NCAA football rules analyst with Fox Sports
- 2020-2021 — Steve Shaw, College Football Officiating (CFO) National Coordinator of Officials & NCAA Football Secretary Rules Editor
- 2022 — Jim Host, founder of Host Communications, a pioneering collegiate sports marketing and production services company that was acquired by IMG in 2007.
- 2023 — NFLRA, founded in 1972, the sole and exclusive bargaining representative of NFL officials. NASO group members (all-staff) since 2005.
- 2024 — Ernie Yarbrough, Georgia High School Association (GHSA) assistant executive director and coordinator of officiating