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Football Officiating => General Discussion => Topic started by: TXMike on January 16, 2011, 08:06:58 AM
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http://www.southbendtribune.com/article/20110116/Sports/101160385/1100/Sports
Pioneer Parry steps down
Michigan City resident leaves behind officiating legacy.
By AL LESAR
MICHIGAN CITY — Don't let Dave Parry's "by the book" approach to his professional life define who he really is.
He's one of college football's innovators, one of the primary pioneers of instant replay.
He's the guy who coaxed officiating from "the dark ages," and cultivated a positive environment within the Big Ten Conference, then later, on a national scope.
But, beyond all that, the former Michigan City Rogers High School athletic director is a proud dad who gets misty just thinking about what one of his sons has accomplished.
Parry, 75, will retire Feb. 1 as the national coordinator for College Football Officiating. His is the face of the integrity and the pursuit of excellence he wants for each of his officials.
An avocation that developed into a passion lasting more than 50 years, when Parry finally steps back from the officiating business Feb. 1, a connection will remain.
His son John, 45, is in his 11th year as an NFL official. Three years ago, John worked his first Super Bowl — in a torrential Miami rain while the Colts beat the Bears.
"I still remember watching John walk through the tunnel (on his way to the field)," Dave said, during a recent lunch, his voice cracking. "He gave me the sign (raising his arm and his fist). There's nothing better (clearing his throat to fight the emotion, like tough guys do).''
Watching his son's experience, he said, was more satisfying than any of his own on-field accomplishments.
Dave's day in the sun came in 1983, Super Bowl XVII, Washington 27, Miami 17, in the Rose Bowl.
"(Washington running back) John Riggins broke one down my sidelines," said Parry, a side judge at the time. "I chased him down the sidelines. He beat me, but I was in the picture when he scored. I got a lot of press time around the country."
Press time usually isn't good for an official. A demanding boss since he took over as the Big Ten supervisor of officials in 1990, Parry's mission has been to stabilize a very difficult situation.
"Dave brought officiating out of the dark ages," said Rick Nelson of Elkhart, a veteran Big Ten official of 13 years. "Officials, by nature, are very competitive. You have to have a very stable ego. He's the guy who tells you, 'Hey, you made a mistake.' He handles it well.
"He's very formal. Not a friendly, backslapping sort of guy. He's the most respected guy in officiating."
"(Big Ten commissioner) Jim Delaney told me, 'You inherited a jungle, now it's a petting zoo,'" Parry said. "Officials were being bullied by league coaches and administrators. We focused on professionalism and got it resolved."
Play it again, Dave
Before the 2004 season, Parry had to be a salesman. He had 11 athletic directors and 11 head coaches in a room and showed them a controversial play. He took a vote as to what the official's call on the play should be.
Split vote — 11 went one way, 11 the other.
"I said, 'You're sitting here in soft chairs in an air conditioned room and you can't agree on the call. How's an official supposed to get it right?'" Parry said.
Good enough. The Big Ten became the first conference to experiment with instant replay.
"Problem was, we didn't have a lot of money for it," Parry said. "We had to use the 'Michigan City system,' the way I had to do things when I was an athletic director — low budget."
Parry said having Penn State coach Joe Paterno in his corner didn't hurt his cause. Penn State had been burned on a couple bad calls in years leading up to the vote.
Parry flashes a proud smile at the notion that instant replay is now a staple in college football.
"There might have been some trepidation at first," said Mishawaka's John Roggeman, a Big Ten official for the past nine years. "Once you worked a couple games and saw the positives, everyone got beyond that."
MIBT
Every official who has worked under Parry knows his mantra: MIBT — Make It Be There.
"As a supervisor, I pushed people skills hard," Parry said. "You don't want to be a game interrupter. I want the grandma in the cheap seats to be able to see the foul that's called.
"When I started (in 1990 with the Big Ten), I visited all 11 head coaches and their staffs. I came away with them all saying, 'I can't forgive an official that makes a call if the foul's not there.' When (coaches) watch the film on Monday, I want them to be mad at their player for making the foul rather than being mad at the official for calling a foul that didn't happen."
National perspective
While the Big Ten had its officiating situation ironed out, the college football world was crying for consistency.
Enter Parry.
In 2008, with a solid background and an impeccable reputation, Parry was hired as the first national coordinator of College Football Officiating.
His mission and mandate was to bring a level of continuity to every region and level. He presided over 18 conference supervisors from around the country.
"Too many (supervisors) approached it as, 'These are my guys. It's my way or the highway,'" Parry said of the pre-CFO days of officiating. "I'd turn on a game on TV and be able to tell right away which conference (officials) was working the game."
Then, Parry got the ultimate power. Every official wants to work a bowl game. The national coordinator of CFO was put in charge of bowl assignments.
"I just told the supervisors things had to change," Parry said. "I said, 'Continue things as they are and you won't get bowl assignments.'
"The best thing is I can turn on the TV now and not know where the crew is from."
He knew three Big Ten crews took a beating in the recent bowl season.
A Big Ten official flagged Kansas State's Adrian Hilburn for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after his quick salute to the fans following a TD against Syracuse in the Pinstripe Bowl; North Carolina beat Tennessee in overtime in the Music City Bowl with some clock concerns at the end of regulation, and "they got it right," said Parry, about Auburn's Michael Dyer's critical late-game 37-yard run when he appeared to be tackled earlier in the closing minutes of the BCS Championship Game.
Parry, the man
"Dave has represented the Big Ten with nothing but class and dignity," Roggeman said. "It's difficult to overestimate the influence he's had on college football."
Roggeman has spent many evenings in Parry's basement office reviewing film and learning whatever he can from the master. He's come to know Dave and Pat, his wife of more than 50 years, as the kind people they are.
Nelson, a veterinarian in real life, got to know the Parrys on another level.
About eight years ago, their cocker spaniel Molly needed ACL surgery. Their Michigan City vet referred them to a guy in Elkhart who's a specialist in that sort of surgery.
"I had no idea whose dog it was," Nelson said. "When they came in, I was shocked. They loved that dog. I was a little worried.
"I told my assistant, 'If that (heart) monitor flat-lines during surgery, call my wife. Tell her to put my (officials) uniform on e-bay and see what she can get for it.'"
Surgery went well. Molly had a great life.
So has Dave. He's given a legacy to football — as an official and a dad
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Great article! Thank you for sharing this with us, TXMike!
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Excellent read. Thanks!
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Good stuff. Both Parry senior and junior are true class acts.
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nice find TX Mike--thanks for sharing.
MIBT--great acronym which we can all live by as officials.