NEW YORK, N.Y. — The National Association of Sports Officials (NASO) and the Division III Commissioners Association (DIIICA) announced the launch of a new sports officiating recruitment effort aimed at National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III student-athletes in all sports. The initiative is titled “Stay In the Game,” and is the first official program to launch from NASO and the DIIICA partnership announced earlier this year as funded by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
Stay in the Game is designed to help DIII athletes stay connected to sports through officiating. The program pairs athletes with mentors via the NASO GameSavers network, offering guidance, resources, and local opportunities to begin an officiating journey and continue making an impact in the game.
With the Stay in the Game program, DIII coaches are asked to identify student-athletes who they believe would make great sports officials as those athletes’ playing days start to wind down. Through a dedicated portal on NASO’s Say Yes to Officiating website, the coaches then nominate their athletes to keep them in the game as officials. From there, NASO’s GameSavers network goes into action, and a local sports official working in the athlete’s chosen sport and community reaches out to the athlete and helps get them started as a sports official by guiding them to the right places to get licensed and registered, how to join a local association, get training and game assignments, and even where to find uniforms and equipment.
“Through this partnership, we’re able to take advantage of NASO’s established ‘Say Yes to Officiating’ infrastructure and focus it squarely onto new officiating recruits from the large pool of DIII athletes,” says Jeff Ligney, commissioner of the Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference and member of the DIIICA Officiating Committee. “It’s imperative that we give those athletes a pathway into sports officiating. Their experiences at the DIII level of competition will make them invaluable as they move up through the various competitive levels as officials.”
“We couldn’t be happier to roll out these resources in partnership with the DIIICA,” says Ken Koester, NASO Chief Business Development Officer. “As an education-based non-profit, NASO is built for this kind of work. Not only does it directly align with our mission, but it addresses the growing national shortage of sports officials in a unique and effective way.”
Release courtesy National Association of Sports Officials (NASO)/Division III Commissioners Association (DIIICA)
