Fast forward to 2000. I was hired into the Big Ten as a head linesman, despite having worked at the referee position in the Division III ranks. This effectively doubled the size of the hurdle that greeted me: Not only would I be officiating at a level where the athletes were significantly faster in front of crowds which were massively larger, I would be doing it from a position on the field which was largely foreign to me. As you might expect, things did not go well. After my first year, I received a letter from David Parry, the supervisor of officials: I finished seventh out of seven head linesmen and in the bottom third of the officiating staff as a whole. I was moved to a different crew for 2001. At the end of the 2001 season, I received another letter: last among head linesmen, bottom third of all officials. I was moved to yet another crew for 2002. Same result. At this point, I lived in the legitimate fear that I would be dropped from the staff. The pattern was unmistakable, and it was Parry’s policy that he would not move an official to referee unless he had proven himself and earned the respect of his crew mates at another position.