Hussey and Torbert are Conference Championship referees

Football Zebras exclusive

Football Zebras has confirmed the assignment of referees John Hussey and Ron Torbert to the Conference Championship games on Sunday. John Hussey will be in Philadelphia for the NFC showdown between the 49ers and Eagles; Ron Torbert will be in Kansas City for the rematch of last season’s AFC Championship between the Bengals and Chiefs.

All times are Eastern.

The prior playoff experience that is listed for the crew chief includes his service as an NFL official, including as referee and any other crew position (excluding alternate assignments).

Sunday, Jan. 29

NFC Championship Game: 49ers at Eagles, 3:00 p.m. Fox

John Hussey is the referee for the NFC Championship Game.

Hussey is in his 21st season and 8th as referee. This is Hussey’s 16th postseason assignment, including 6 Wild Card Playoffs, 5 Divisional Playoffs, 4 Conference Championships, and Super Bowl XLV. His Super Bowl assignment was as a line judge.

Hussey joined the NFL in 2002 after officiating in the collegiate ranks for both the Western Athletic Conference and the Pac-10 Conference, now the Pac-12. He was promoted to referee in the 2015 season following the retirement of Bill Leavy and after working 13 years as a line judge .

Before his hiring to the NFL staff, he worked in the Arena Football League, and after his NFL hire, he took some reps as a referee in 2007 for NFL Europe, 8 years before his NFL promotion.

Hussey, 58, is from Huntington Beach, Calif., and is the founder and CEO of Cuddly, a fundraising company that supports animal-welfare nonprofit organizations.

			Yrs	2022 crew	College	Occupation
R	35	John Hussey	21		Idaho State	sales representative
U	76	Alan Eck	7	Hussey	Bloomsburg State	tax manager
DJ	8	Dana McKenzie	15	Blakeman	Toledo	claims adjuster
LJ	47	Tim Podraza	15	Torbert	Nebraska	business performance consultant
FJ	26	Jabir Walker	8	Hussey	Murray State	middle school teacher
SJ	56	Allen Baynes	15	Hussey	Auburn	realtor
BJ	111	Terrence Miles	15	Novak	Arizona State	quality control manager
RO		Jamie Nicholson	5	Hussey	Ferris State	teacher
RA		Larry Hill Jr.	2	Hussey	Hampton	judge
ALT	R	Clay Martin	8		Oklahoma Baptist	high school administrator
ALT	U	Terry Killens	4	Hochuli	Penn State	campus security specialist
ALT	DJ	Danny Short	6	Kemp	North Carolina-Charlotte	executive director, global sales operations
ALT	LJ	Rusty Baynes	13	Boger	Auburn-Montgomery	general manager, safety services
ALT	FJ	Joe Blubaugh	3	Vinovich	Pittsburg State	regional sales manager
ALT	SJ	Chad Hill	5	Hochuli	Mississippi	medical sales
ALT	BJ	Grantis Bell	3	Wrolstad	West Virginia	school counselor
ALT	RO	Kevin Brown	4	Cheffers	Purdue	retired air traffic controller

Alternates will be posted pending confirmation.

AFC Championship Game: Bengals at Chiefs, 6:30 p.m. CBS Para+

Ron Torbert will lead the crew for the AFC Championship Game. Although he is fresh off of his first Super Bowl assignment from last season, this is Torbert’s first Conference Championship.

Torbert is in his 13th season and 9th as referee. This is his 11th postseason assignment, including 3 Wild Card Playoffs, 6 Divisional Playoffs, 1 Conference Championship and Super Bowl LVI.

After working up the small college ladder, Torbert worked one year in the Mid-American Conference, followed by four years in the Big Ten Conference. Torbert worked in NFL Europe for the 2007 season, and was hired by the NFL in 2010 as a side judge. He was promoted to referee in 2014 following the retirements of Scott Green and Ron Winter.

Torbert, 59, is an attorney from Hanover, Md.

			Yrs	2022 crew	College	Occupation
R	62	Ron Torbert	13		Michigan State	attorney
U	128	Ramon George	7	Novak	Lenoir-Rhyne	financial underwriter
DJ	79	Kent Payne	19	Rogers	Nebraska Wesleyan	agribusinessman
LJ	45	Jeff Seeman	21	Cheffers	Minnesota	brokerage sales
FJ	97	Tom Hill	24	Blake	Carson Newman	retired teacher/coach
SJ	41	Boris Cheek	27	Allen	Morgan State	retired director of operations and management
BJ	30	Todd Prukop	14	Blake	Cal State-Fullerton	medical sales representative
RO		Roddy Ames	5	Hill	Colby College	attorney
RA		Joe Wollan	3	Hill	St. Thomas	recruiting
ALT	R	Bill Vinovich	17		San Diego	certified public accountant
ALT	U	Mark Pellis	9	Torbert	Allegheny	financial advisor
ALT	DJ	Mark Hittner	26	Smith	Pittsburg State	investment broker
ALT	LJ	Walt Coleman IV	8	Novak	Southern Methodist	portfolio manager
ALT	FJ	Rick Patterson	27	Allen	Wofford	banker
ALT	SJ	Keith Washington	15	Torbert	Virginia Military Institute	program financial analyst
ALT	BJ	Greg Wilson	15	Martin	USC	retired police officer
ALT	RO	Mike Chase	6	Kemp	Arizona State	senior portfolio manager