Mountain West Continues Progress Approach
The 2011 season will again see the Mountain West reprise its leadership role in the efforts to further develop and standardize college football officiating. As initiatives move forward on the national level under the umbrella of the College Football Officiating LLC (CFO), the MW and its partners in the Big 12 and Southland Conferences continue to forge ahead aggressively in this part of the country under the auspices of "CFO West".

Now entering its fifth year, this collaborative effort involves a fully-integrated and shared-resources approach to identifying, training, assigning and evaluating football officials for the respective conferences. This includes a single, combined roster from which officials are assigned to the games in all three leagues. Such consolidation allows the conferences to retain and utilize only the best-of-the-best from among the available officials in the region. It also provides flexibility in assignments which can eliminate repeat visits by crews within the same season, minimize concerns about alumni and hometown conflicts, and address other perceptual issues.

The cornerstone of this collaboration is a performance-based philosophy which emphasizes accountability. CFO West is currently the only conference officiating organization to pay officials on the basis of merit and performance, with officials meeting minimum accountability standards each season. Each of the conferences has committed resources to facilitate extensive film evaluation, which includes detailed review of every play from every contest. All three leagues also utilize the QwikRef system, which systematically compiles evaluative data on officials, while gathering additional information vital to the analysis and improvement of the officiating program. This computerized database tracks each snap and each call, and includes input from both coaches and skilled evaluators.

The CFO West conferences now have also established a standardized online background checks process, in addition to the uniform independent contractor agreements, minimum fitness standards and other important initiatives already in place. The Mountain West and Big 12 have also moved ahead with upgrades to their instant replay systems, as the Big 12 installed high-definition equipment for the 2010 season and the MW will complete the installation of its state-of-the-art HD system in time for the 2011 campaign. In addition, the CFO West conferences have adopted a consistent policy of utilizing an Assistant Technician in the replay booth to ensure optimal function of the replay crew as well as develop future Replay Officials.

The Mountain West's involvement in these unprecedented and dramatic changes in football officiating reflects the Conference's philosophy that officiating is an integral part of the MW's drive for excellence and competition at the highest levels. The ultimate goal remains to not only elevate officiating in the Mountain West, but also establish a regional/national arrangement that will eventually remove conference labels and result in a more consistent approach. To that end, CFO West has extended its alliances to several other conferences (e.g., SWAC, MIAA, RMAC) with regard to clinics, training, evaluation, etc., in an effort to continue building an extensive infrastructure.

High-quality officiating which matches the excellence of the football teams in the Mountain West (and its partner conferences) will remain the focus of this progressive approach.