CHARLOTTE, NC — Officiating always seems to be a lightning rod in conversations around women’s basketball.
Controversies around refereeing or criticisms of it grab headlines. From UConn coach Geno Auriemma saying that the three refs in the Huskies’ Final Four loss to South Carolina “had no business being there,” to Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer Carol Stiff calling WNBA officiating “a major concern,” this specific aspect of the game seems to always be in the spotlight for the wrong reasons.
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Now, a group of college conferences are working to improve officiating in the sport.
In an effort spearheaded by the ACC, the conference will partner with the Big East, American, Atlantic 10, Ivy League, CAA, Big South and Metro in an officiating alliance. Overseeing the partnership will be Pualani Spurlock-Welsh, who was recently named supervisor of officials for the ACC, Big East and American.
“When you look at the consortium that was put together, it’s an investment in women’s basketball and an investment in women’s basketball officiating,” ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips told USA TODAY Sports. “You have to continue to groom young officials and new officials to the game in different ways. And one way to do it is through the conferences. I’m excited about it. It’s a strategic, dedicated group looking to make sure that they’re delivering the very best quality of a women’s basketball officiating.”
Relationships through women’s basketball officiating existed before through these eight conferences under the guidance of Debbie Williamson, who spent 13 years as a supervisor of officials before retiring earlier this year. Now, the alliance is official.
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One key difference is Williamson previously oversaw all eight leagues directly. Spurlock-Welsh will be the supervisor for the ACC, Big East and American, and then have representatives from the other five mid-major leagues report to her. The A-10, Ivy, CAA, Big South and Metro will have their own supervisor who will work with Spurlock-Welsh to create synergy across the eight conferences.
Ultimately, the alliance aims to identify, recruit and retain referees, develop efficient and collaborative assigning strategies that emphasize what makes sense geographically and enhance official training, education and evaluation for referees.
“We’re making sure our pipeline is secure,” Jackie Carson, the ACC’s senior vice president for women’s basketball, told USA TODAY Sports. “And how can we do things better? Some of our top officials, when they don’t have an ACC, American or Big East, they’ll hit a game in one of those other leagues. We’re all working together to have a pipeline.”
A young or inexperienced official may start out calling games in the Big South or Metro before working their way up to a league like the ACC or Big East. The alliance aims to provide training and development to make such a path possible.
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“You need a system that’s got some tiers to it, so that you have a chance to move up as you get experience and become more familiar with women’s basketball,” Phillips said. “It’s a training mechanism for women’s college basketball overall. The commissioners will obviously have some oversight to it.”
Spurlock-Welsh played at Duquesne and was a graduate assistant at Slippery Rock before embarking on a career in officiating. She was a Division I referee for 18 years and worked in the ACC for the last 14. She has also officiated four Final Fours and worked in the WNBA and the NBA’s G-League.
Since 2011, she had officiated more than 75 games per year across multiple conferences. Spurlock-Welsh now steps off the hardwood and into this leadership role.
“She has so many amazing training ideas,” Carson said. “You know, to have an official of her level come off the floor and be able to speak that language of officials, that’s important, and she’s one of high integrity. She’s been at the highest level, she knows what it takes to develop, she knows what they’re missing from officiating and some areas where we could solve some problems.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Eight conferences form alliance to improve women’s basketball officiating
