KHSAA Commissioner Confirms Officiating Shortage is Real

Officials are having a hard time keeping up with the demand for their services in Kentucky. (Chris Zollner Photo)

Kentucky High School Athletic Association commissioner Julian Tackett said on WLAP Sunday Morning Sports Talk that while there is not yet a shortage of high school football officials there are no “extra” officials.

That has resulted in assignors having to sometimes tell teams to move a Friday night game to either Thursday or Saturday to accommodate officials.

“Now in other sports the shortage is real,” Tackett said. “We are one of the few states that plays boys and girls soccer at the same time and we do not have enough soccer officials. Last year in baseball and softball one local association had 17 schools in the region and only 18 umpires. That’s a real shortage.”

Tackett said game fees for officials have been raised and some local schools have also offered extra incentives to get officials.

“It’s not what officiating a college game would pay but we are trying. We have even lowered registration fees but I really don’t think money is the problem,” he said. “The next generation of officials is not as tolerant of the way they are treated.”

Tackett said fans/parents threatening officials and telling them they will wait for them in the parking lot after a game/match has been a problem with parents expecting officials to be perfect and even stalking officials at times. He also said foul language that would never be tolerated in a classroom is “out of control” in high school sports.

“It’s a tough thing. Our assignors are doing a good job but the shortage is real and could result in games being moved and/or cancelled,” Tackett said.

He noted that the state had almost 400 new officials this year but the overall number of officials in Kentucky is down.

“So we have a bunch of officials without a lot of experience getting thrown into games and the veterans who could have mentored them have left officiating,” Tackett said. “Right now we are way down in basketball registration but I am not ready to panic even though we are down 500 because a lot probably will still register before the season. But we are short in other sports and don’t forget that we also play more games than anyone in the country.”

Tackett and the KHSAA are also dealing with more and more athletes transferring  and the commissioner says it is a “real possibility” there could be a few super teams in most sports.

“It’s not a new concept. This has happened for a while but is happening a lot more now,” Tackett said. “It’s very difficult to want open choice (of schools) for education but penalize an athlete for wanting open choice.”

Tackett said KHSAA officials talk often with legislators about trying to strike a fair balance with academics and athletics.

“For years we all worried about a coach illegally recruiting. But now kids ending up at another school is not an indicator the coach has anything to do with it,” Tackett said. “Big changes are happening with transfers but it has actually been slower here than in other states. It’s happening across the country.”