Steve Shaw retiring as the head of college football officiating

Steve Shaw, a fixture in college football who modernized officiating mechanics and guided the sport’s playing rules, will retire as the NCAA’s secretary-rules editor and national coordinator of officials, the organization announced. His retirement is effective Sept. 1.

Shaw has served as the secretary-rules editor for the NCAA Football Rules Committee since September 2017, when he succeeded Rogers Redding. He took on the added responsibility of national coordinator of football officials in March 2020.

“It has been an honor of a lifetime to serve and work in college football,” Shaw said in a statement. “The relationships and friendships with commissioners, coaches, players, media and most of all my fellow officials are the memories I will always cherish. There are many issues and challenges for college football today, but on the field between the lines, we have a masterpiece of a game.”

Shaw’s administrative influence followed an impressive 22-year on-field career. As an on-field official, he spent six years at the Division II level in the Gulf South Conference before enjoying a 15-year tenure as a referee in the SEC.

Widely considered one of the sport’s top referees during his on-field days, Shaw worked 14 postseason assignments. He was the referee for two BCS national championship games: Virginia Tech vs. Florida State in 2000 and Southern California vs. Oklahoma in 2005. He also officiated six other BCS bowl games, including three Rose Bowls, two Fiesta Bowls and one Orange Bowl, alongside four SEC championship games.

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Shaw transitioned to a supervisory role and became the SEC’s coordinator of football officials in 2011. He also took on the same title for the Sun Belt Conference in 2014, leading a joint program for the two leagues.

As the national leader of officiating, Shaw was pivotal in implementing consistent mechanics across the sport and integrating technology into the officiating process. He chaired the Collegiate Commissioners Association National Mechanics Committee beginning in 2011, where he completely rewrote the CCA manual and introduced the first set of mechanics for an eight-person officiating crew.

He also helped pioneer the wireless official-to-official communication systems, known as O2O, now standard across all levels of football and promoted the expanded use of video to evaluate and develop referees. His weekly rules videos were invaluable not only for officials but also for fans looking to gain an understanding of NCAA officiating rules and mechanics.

Jon Steinbrecher, Mid-American Conference commissioner and chair of College Football Officiating, praised Shaw’s impact on the sport.” Steve has provided a steady hand and leadership in our national officiating efforts that has helped modernize many areas,” Steinbrecher said. “His commitment to excellence, transparency, and integrity in officiating is second to none.” The CFO is an umbrella organization that nationalizes the processes around the rules and officiating mechanics, while the conferences are responsible for their officials.

Shaw, a 2020 Alabama Sports Hall of Fame inductee, noted that he plans to work through the summer to prepare officials for the upcoming 2026 season before starting his next chapter. The NCAA has not yet named his replacement at the time of this writing.