Collins named national coordinator for soccer officials

John Collins has been named the NCAA men's and women's soccer national coordinator of officials, bringing more than 35 years of experience as a referee to the position.

As the national coordinator, he will oversee communication among officials, conference coordinators, coaches and NCAA national office staff and will help provide consistency in the interpretation of NCAA soccer rules and referee mechanics.

In addition, Collins will work with the Division I, II and III men's and women's soccer committees in the identification, training, selection and evaluation of officials for each championship. Collins succeeds Ryan Cigich, who recently retired from the role. 

"I'm extremely honored to receive this appointment from the NCAA and excited to serve our student-athletes, coaches and soccer officials," Collins said. "Thank you to Ryan Cigich for his leadership over the last 11 years, which has produced many advancements for college soccer officiating. I look forward to focusing on a process of continuous improvement for our officials through collaboration with the many stakeholders of our game."

A former Division I goalkeeper, Collins has served in the NCAA national referee pool, participating as the match official in numerous NCAA tournament games across all three divisions during his on-field tenure from 1993 to 2017. 

During his time as a referee, he worked directly with multiple conferences, including the Atlantic 10 Conference, Big East Conference, Colonial Athletic Association and The Ivy League.

For the past 10 years, Collins has continued to work with several conferences in the role of coordinator of soccer officials, while also being a national assessor and registered assignor for the National Intercollegiate Soccer Officials Association. 

His role as an assessor has extended to the professional ranks, where he has evaluated match officials in Major League Soccer, the National Women's Soccer League and the United Soccer League since 2017 for the Professional Referee Organization. Collins also continues to serve the United States Soccer Federation as an assessor and instructor in his role as a national referee coach.

"Through John's experience as a former student-athlete, referee, assignor and evaluator, he demonstrated a thorough understanding of the importance of this role and its impact on the championships of all three divisions," said Ryan Tressel, NCAA director of championships and alliances. "My colleagues and I look forward to working with him to continue to advance the soccer referee program and positively impact our soccer championships."

Collins, who earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from Fairfield in Fairfield, Connecticut, continues to reside in the Constitution State, where he works as a vice president with Pelican Capital Advisors.