2007-2008 IHSA Basketball

Ah, the rush is over. Every year, prep basketball takes over my life from November through February. The typical parent/fan knows little about what referees do, what we know, or how hard we work. Nobody's reading this so, once again, I get a chance to rant. But to begin, some background...

All varsity grade basketball officials have to jump through several "hoops" to have the proper credentials. It starts for me when the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) mails out the rule books and an open-book test labeled "Part II." First timers need only register with the state and request a packet. Most officials will go through the questions, fill out the test score sheet, and hope for the best. All officials must score 85% on the test to keep their certification.

Officials come in three flavors: Registered, Approved, and Certified. Any flavor can officiate any level. Anyone can be registered their first year. To move from registered to approved requires only a couple years of experience. You apply to take the open-book, proctored, Part I test offered in late November. If you pass, you are “approved.” Moving from approved to certified requires more experience, some promotion recommendations from coaches and other officials and a passing grade on the Part I, closed-book. In all, I think it takes a minimum of 5 or 6 years to be certified. You get absolutely no extra money from the schools for this hassle. Nor do you get any extra regular season games. What you do get, is a shot at some post season games.

Ah, the tournaments! November is the kick-off of the season and there are quite a few pre-season turkey tourneys. With a little luck, you can catch 8-10 games the first week. The next set of tournaments falls during xmas break. The next big time is right before the end of the season to help coaches tune up for post season success…or not.

Regular season is marked by the slow march of games through the beginning of February. Girls’ varsity games usually fall on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Boys’ varsity games fall on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays. Varsity officials with full schedules will call three nights a week, every week and get 10 games come each tournament. Those who specialize in middle and jr. high could call almost every night.

Come post season, the IHSA assigns referees to all the games. They try to select certified officials. That being said, this is Illinois. The good ole boy system is alive and rampant. In the end, the IHSA throws all their metrics out the window and puts whoever the hell they want in any particular game. Any modicum of professionalism goes right out the window as soon as they enter that smoke filled room to select post season officials. Our current comish has tried to make the good ole boy system less conspicuous but it’s still there.


I have a few things to talk about during subsequent installments here. I hinted at the first one, how hard we work and what the normal joe doesn't know about us. One is the way southern Illinois schools assign games. The IHSA metrics? What a load of hooey. More soon…