CAA Joins Football Officiating Alliance Formed By ACC, AAC



GREENSBORO, N.C. (February 21, 2019) – Three conferences – the Colonial Athletic Association, the Ivy League and the Patriot League – will join the football officiating alliance that was formed in the spring of 2018 between the Atlantic Coast Conference, the American Athletic Conference and the Big South Conference.



The alliance, effective immediately, will be administered by Dennis Hennigan, the ACC’s Supervisor of Football Officials, who will lead the operation of the alliance. He will be supported by supervisors of football officials from the AAC, CAA, Ivy and Patriot. Each supervisor will be responsible for the weekly evaluation of officials for their respective conferences and will be the primary point person between their conferences and head football coaches.



“It’s important to build consistency and quality throughout the football officiating ranks as well as provide support to both current and future officials,” said ACC Commissioner John Swofford. “We welcome the Colonial Athletic Association, Ivy and Patriot Leagues to the alliance and believe this is another step in combining expertise and resources for the enhancement of the officiating programs.”



The alliance will enable all six conferences to work together on a wide range of officiating matters, including scheduling, training, development, recruitment, retention and evaluation. The long-term mission of the alliance is to increase proficiency and consistency among veteran officials across the collegiate football officiating landscape and to facilitate the entry of younger officials into the profession.



“The CAA is very appreciative of the opportunity to be able to move its football officiating program under the umbrella of the ACC,” noted CAA Commissioner Joe D’Antonio. “On behalf of our Athletics Directors, coaches and student-athletes, I would like to thank ACC Commissioner John Swofford and ACC Coordinator of Football Officiating Dennis Hennigan for the chance to form this partnership. Our Conference is excited for the future of CAA Football, and we know that this relationship with the ACC is another step in our constant pursuit to solidify our position within the spectrum of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).”



