NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) and East Coast Conference (ECC), in conjunction with the College Basketball Officials Association (CBOA), sponsored a men’s basketball officials clinic at Fordham University on June 18. The clinic was directed by the CACC and ECC Supervisor of Officials, Tim McAleer and was made possible by a grant from the NCAA Division II Officiating Enhancement Program.
The clinic served as a tryout for high school officials hoping to work collegiate games and for current college officials looking to work higher levels of intercollegiate basketball. The current collegiate officials also attended a professional workshop, which included an instructional camp, lectures and film review. A total of 22 high school officials attended, along with 52 collegiate officials.
The camp included tryouts as officials worked games for the Fordham University Camp, which featured 20 local high school teams. The referees were evaluated by a panel of veteran observers and provided feedback. Officials who impressed the observers will be added to the conference rosters. The CACC and ECC strive to continue to provide quality officiating for their institutions, and the clinic served as a vital tool in the process.
“The CACC and ECC have worked on joint initiatives in the past and this is a great example of conference cooperation,” said CACC Commissioner Dan Mara. “By pooling our resources we are able to attract the top up and coming basketball officials to work our conferences.”
“Our conferences have a commitment to helping provide quality events and game environments for our member institutions so working together with CBOA to train officials and identify those who can become part of our officiating groups was a great step,” said ECC Commissioner Robert Dranoff. “We are both appreciative of the financial support the NCAA provided this year to our conferences through the DII Officiating Enhancement program that allowed us to partner together with the CBOA to make this event occur.”
“The officials camp run by Tim McAleer during our Fordham Weekend Team Camp was outstanding,” said Fordham University head basketball coach Tom Pecora. “The professional manner in which the camp did business each day was exceptional . Having officials working and learning each and every game allows our camp run on the highest level. I have received a dozen letters from the coaches who took part in the camp raving about the job done by the officials.”
The CBOA is in its 63rd year as the only association of its kind, providing certified, trained collegiate officials to several Division I, II and III schools and conferences. Its programs include comprehensive examinations, ratings and observation systems that are used to provide ongoing development of officials.
Release provided by Kirk Reed, Assistant Commissioner - CACC
