College Football Referees List includes the names of Hank Jones, Mike Roche, Jerry McGinn, Tom Stapleton, Marcus Woods, and Kevin Mar.
NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision is the highest level of college football in the United States. D-I schools consist of major and notable collegiate athletic facilities than Division II and III.
Division I schools are further divided into the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). It has served as a platform for the players to make their way to the NFL draft.
FBS schools provide more athletic scholarships and have higher game attendance requirements, including a series of postseason bowl games. Meanwhile, FCS operates with fewer games, mainly following the multi-team bracket tournament.
As NCAA football teams have successfully garnered a notable number of fans, the officiating teams and referees equally deserve the hype.
Hank Johns - AAC
Hank Johns is the leading referee from the FBS American Athletic Conference. He took charge of the conference championship game in 2022.
While Tulane Green Wave won the AAC Championship triumphing over UCF, Johns and his officiating team made a notable impression in front of the conference.
Apart from Hank, the other crew members in 2022 included umpire Michael Prowell, headliner Todd Riddick, line judge Alex Amaya, field judge Jerry Walter, and side judge Eric Hartman.
Likewise, Jim Sima was the back judge, followed by Patrick Oldham as the center judge, while Kevin Randall was an alternate. Mike Stevens looked after the replays while Jonathan Schwanbeck was the communicator in the crew.
Mike Roche - ACC
ACC football referee Mike Roche officiated the division championship game between Clemson Tigers and North Carolina in December 2022.
The Tigers triumphed over Carolina by 39-10 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. Quarterback Cade Klubnik was announced as the MVP.
Meanwhile, Roche has earned a huge reputation over the years as one of the top-notch officials in the NCAA Atlantic Coast Conference. A team of experts had helped him look after that final game.
The crew included Ryan Wingers as the center judge, Johnnie Forte as the umpire, Josiah Ford as the linesman, and Steve Matarante as the line judge. Likewise, Rich Wilborn was the side judge, Ryan Flynn was the field judge, and Ken Bushey was the back judge.
Jerry McGinn - Big Ten
Jerry McGinn ranks among the best NCAA football referees. McGinn has been an NCAA Division-I college official since 2002, per his LinkedIn.
He graduated with a bachelor's degree in business administration from Lycoming College. Jerry was the Vice President of Encompass Risk Solutions from 2016 to 2019.
The Malvern native is the crew chief from the Big Ten Conference. He led his officiating team at the 2022 FBS Conference Championship games.
The crew consisted of umpire Mike Pilarski, headliner Rudy Studd, line judge Kris Loving, field judge Reggie Berry, and side judge Steve Thielen.
Moreover, the Big Ten officiating party included Jake Kemp as the back judge, Mike Stumberg as the center judge, duo Jeff Servinski and Lamont Simpson as alternates, and Tom Fielder in the replay, while Brian Smith was the communicator.
Tom Stapleton - MAC
Division-I football's Mid-American Conference referee Tom Stapleton has been a notable face among the NCAA football officials positions.
Tom led the officiating crew during the 2022 FBS MAC Championship on December 3, 2022. The game was between Toledo Rockets vs Ohio Bobcats, which Toledy won by 17-7.
Umpire Keith Vaverchak, linesman William McKoy, line judge Gary Schildmeyer, and side judge Brett Henniger had backed Stapleton that day. Likewise, Nicole Randolph was the back judge, while Larry Neal served as an alternate in the team.
Before his NCAA official career, Stapleton was a football player for Illinois State University from 1981 to 1983. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration.
Moreover, he is a 1992 graduate of Finance at Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University. Besides his duties for MAC, Tom also works as a full-time fraud risk consultant for Wells Fargo Commercial Capital in Chicago.
Marcus Woods - AAC (The American)
Marcus Woods is originally from Asheville, North Carolina. He graduated with a specialization in Accounting from North Carolina A&T.
Woods splits his time officiating the games of AAC, ACC, and the Big South Conference. He recently made headlines for officiating the 2022 NCAA match between the Army Black Knights and the Navy Midshipmen on December 10, 2022.
The long rivals' game heated the Lincoln Financial Stadium, but Woods officiated the match in a great way thanks to his long years of experience as an official. The Armys grabbed the win by 20-17.
Woods then celebrated his birthday on December 13, three days later after the big game. He shares most of his life events on his Facebook. He is a big fan of watching internet memes and sharing them for a good laugh.
Kevin Mar - Big 12
Kevin Mar is one of the most notable names on the list of Big 12 football referees. He started his officiating career as a line judge in 2006.
He was one of the four referees, alongside Tuta Salaam, Michael Vandervelde, and Kevin Hassell, to join the Big 12 workforce after veteran officials Cooper Castleberry, Mike Defee, and Eddy Shelton retired that year.
Before his term with Big 12, he became the first Asian American football referee to work for the Pac-12 Conference, where he officiated till 2017.
He looked over the ODP in 2017 and the 2018 Senior Bowl. Before that, he also worked at the Mountain West Conference from 2014 to 2016. Likewise, Mar has been a part of the NFL’s Officiating Development Program since 2014.
