The Big Ten has raided the Pac-12 once again. Instead of taking more schools, it has seized football officials. Three of the conference’s top referees have accepted positions with the Big Ten.
Chris Coyte, Francisco Villar, and Steve Strimling are departing, according to Football Zebras, a website that tracks NFL and NCAA officiating and was the first to report the news. (Coyte worked a College Football Playoff game last season.)
The Pac-12 declined to identify the departed referees by name but confirmed that multiple officials have resigned and said the process of replacing them “is underway.”
In addition to the three referees headed to the Big Ten, a fourth longtime Pac-12 official, Michael Mothershed, has retired.
The departing referees live in Southern California and are expected to handle USC and UCLA home games when the schools join the Big Ten in 2024.
Additionally, Pac-12 center judge Jim Wharrie, who has experience as a referee, is also headed to the Big Ten, according to Football Zebras.
The mass exodus means the Pac-12 will have new referees for at least half of its eight officiating crews during the most anticipated season in years.
A source in the officiating industry told the Hotline that the departing officials viewed the Big Ten as an enticing opportunity — the difference in salary isn’t believed to be substantial — and a chance to separate from David Coleman, the Pac-12’s vice president for officiating.
Since Coleman’s appointment in the spring of 2015, the Pac-12 has experienced one massive scandal and a slew of headline-making gaffes that required public apologies or explanations.
An investigation by the Hotline in 2020 revealed that Coleman was an on-field official for two major college games — both were in the Mid-American Conference — before being hired by the Pac-12 to run its officiating program.
His peers in other Power Five conferences have decades of on-field experience.
Coleman was not available for comment. Nor was Merton Hanks, the Pac-12’s executive associate commissioner for football operations and Coleman’s boss.
Hanks was hired in the fall of 2020 and has offered public support for Coleman on several occasions.
The Pac-12 said it plans to replace the departed referees with officials from within the conference. Those under consideration have served as referees for non-conference games and would have been promoted previously except for the lack of openings at the referee level.
The pool of potential replacements also includes officials from other conferences who have applied for the vacancies in the Pac-12.
But unlike the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and SEC, the Pac-12 doesn’t have a formal officiating partnership with other major college conferences that could provide easy access to experienced replacements.
This, despite the advice of industry experts.
Following the monumental officiating scandal in 2018, in which the Pac-12’s general counsel influenced an instant-replay decision, the conference retained Sibson Consulting to conduct an independent review of all aspects of the officiating process.
Sibson concluded that officiating was “fundamentally sound” but had areas of weakness, including recruitment and training. The report stated:
“The Pac-12 is the only Power Five Conference without an affiliated Group of Five recruiting and training partner for officiating, often called a ‘pipeline’, which is a major weakness.”
Five years later, the conference still doesn’t have an affiliation with any Group of Five league to assist in the training and replacement process.
Asked why a consortium with other leagues wasn’t created following the Sibson report, the Pac-12 said Coleman’s relationships with other FBS and FCS leagues have led to the hiring of officials and that the conference is working to formalize the partnerships to create a pipeline for the future.
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