Right from the 2018-19 NCAA POSTSEASON BOWL HANDBOOK
Officiating
Assignment of Bowl Officials
Officials for postseason football bowl games permitted each year by the Association shall be assigned by the
College Football Officiating LLC (CFO) national coordinator of officials. The national coordinator will
coordinate crew assignments and make any changes to ensure neutral crews are assigned to games after the teams
have been invited to participate. Any changes necessary will be made in the same group of bowls as the game for
which the conflict occurred.
These tasks shall be performed as quickly as possible after the annual selections of teams to facilitate travel and
other arrangements made by and for game officials.
Each person should be aware of policies that govern the conduct of game officials, particularly as they relate to
permissible fees, expenses and amenities. Officials should not expect or request additional items from the game
management of the bowl. The sponsoring agency shall remain responsible for determining, and entering into, the
appropriate contractual relationships with officials assigned to its postseason football bowl games, consistent with
the minimum requirements set forth in this handbook.
The CFO will not authorize for one or more following years the assignment of any official who does not follow
the policies in this handbook or who is not a dignified representative of college athletics while at the bowl site.
Assignment Policies
Officials will be assigned under the following guidelines:
1. An organization that is eligible to nominate officials for a postseason football game shall be approved
annually by the CFO and meet specific criteria to receive a crew assignment for a postseason football game.
It shall:
a. Be a member of the CFO and ultimately subject to the authority of institutional chief executive officers,
or assign varsity football officials for a minimum of eight Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS)
members;
b. Provide an annual clinic, training and supervision for its officials;
c. Require its coordinator of football officials to attend the annual meeting sponsored by the CFO; and
d. Assign officials for a minimum of eight Division I FBS-playing institutions for three years.
2. Bowls are divided into two groups. The first group includes comprises the “New Year’s Six” bowls in the
College Football Playoff (i.e., the, Cotton, Fiesta, Orange, Peach, Rose and Sugar) as well as the CFP
National Championship. The second group includes all other bowls.
3. Each assigning agency that represents a Division I FBS conference shall be eligible to assign a crew to one
of the New Year’s Six games plus the CFP National Championship.
4. After the assignments in paragraph 3 have been made, each remaining Division I FBS conference will be
assigned to a bowl game in the second group of bowls. Neutral-crew assignments shall rotate annually.
5. There will be no maximum placed on the number of officiating crews assigned from any one conference to
postseason bowls during a particular season.
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6. Each FBS conference with a team participating in a postseason bowl shall have at least one officiating crew
assigned to work in a postseason bowl during that season.
7. At the conclusion of the regular season, each conference shall submit to the national coordinator a prioritized
order of officiating crews to be considered for assignment to bowl games. The information listed in paragraph
8 shall be provided for each official nominated and will be considered by the national coordinator in assigning
officiating crews to bowl games.
8. The national coordinator shall consider the following criteria in establishing assignments of officiating crews
to postseason football contests:
a. The quartile rank of the officiating crew’s members within the conference making the recommendation;
b. The officials’ history of assignment to officiate games televised on a national network;
c. The officials have officiated games with attendance minimally consistent with the average attendance
of the assigned bowl game;
d. The officials have been assigned to officiate games involving ranked teams; and
e. In total, every effort should be made to match the three-year performance evaluation history of the
members comprising each officiating crew and assignment to games as described in paragraphs 8-b, 8-
c and 8-d to the level of television coverage, attendance and national ranking of teams in the assigned
bowl. Actual assignments of officiating crews shall be made following announcements of teams
participating in bowl games.
9. A process shall be implemented for conducting a review of officiating performance in post-season games.
The national coordinator and three additional officiating coordinators from FBS conferences, who shall be
selected by the national coordinator and shall serve for a period of three years, shall conduct this review. The
review group shall complete an evaluation of each post-season game involving controversy or concern. Those
evaluations along with a written summary shall be submitted to all FBS conference commissioners within 90
days of the final bowl game.
10. The performance evaluation results (from the process identified in paragraph 9) should be supplemental
information in determining future postseason officiating assignments.
11. Each crew shall include an alternate official.
12. When any adjustments in the assignments are required, the CFO will attempt to make the new assignment
commensurate to the bowl to which the affected officiating crew was assigned.
13. Final officiating crew assignments for all postseason football games shall be subject to approval of the CFO.
14. Within 24 hours of its conference being notified of its postseason bowl assignment, the coordinator of
officials of the assigning conference will identify for bowl game management by email the names of the
officials who have been assigned to the bowl and how each official may be contacted.
15. The sponsoring agency shall distribute basic information to the coordinator of officials for distribution that
includes key contacts for the bowl, lodging information and an opportunity to purchase tickets. It is the
coordinator’s responsibility to distribute the information to the officiating crews.