Football Referee Numbers Still An Issue In Wyoming And Nationwide

Many football players will put on the helmet and pads for their first game this weekend, but there’s not as many people wearing the stripes and a whistle.

Getting referees to work various games has been a challenge, not just in Wyoming, but across the country.

Sometimes a referee crew might work 2 games in 1 day, provided that the start times at both host sites permit enough time for the crew to travel from one game to the other.

Trevor Wilson is the Assistant Commissioner of the Wyoming High School Activities Association.

He says changing the start time of a Friday game is not as bad as the alternative, which has had to be done a number of times.

“We’re in a spot where we do have to move some games to Thursdays and Saturdays, just because we don’t have enough football officials to move those contests.”

Wilson adds that a number of older referees are retiring and not enough from the younger generation are stepping up to replace them.

The main reason is because of poor sportsmanship, and it’s not so much the players or coaches, it’s some of the fans that sometimes make the job unbearable.

“It doesn’t pay enough for them to take grief from mom or dad or whomever it might be, sitting up in the stands giving a critique on every single play and it just gets to a point where they’ve had enough.”

Wilson says it’s not just the varsity level games that schools are having trouble getting officials for.

Sometimes teams that are located near a state border line, might use referees from that other state, if the timing is good and a crew is available.