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Rantin’ and Ravin’: Time for the SEC to invest in officiating

Apr 18, 2025 | 2:00 PM

By Chris Marler

A few years ago at SEC Media Days, Greg Sankey made one of the most surprising, and completely unnoticed, announcements I had heard from a conference commissioner. 

The announcement came during a brief 15-minute prelude to day two, before any coaches spoke and before most of the media had even entered the main auditorium. In an effort to be more transparent with fans and improve communication, the SEC launched a Twitter account dedicated to officiating.

I audibly laughed when he said it because I genuinely thought it was a joke. 

Open access on social media from the most passionately unstable fans in the country? Bold move. 

The decision and purpose of the handle was never to engage with fans but rather provide further insight and explanation on specific plays or calls. I thought it was a pretty unique and progressive idea for 2018. 

Four months later, I watched LSU linebacker Devin White get ejected for targeting against Mississippi State on a ridiculous call that forced him to miss the first half of a top five matchup with Alabama the following week. The play was shown a million times on replay. Every fan, player, analyst, and anyone in between all agreed – that’s the wrong call. 

Wrong calls happen in sports. It’s the human element aspect of it that has been a part of the game. We just have to accept it and deal with the frustration. 

However, over the last few years the money that is being made on college sports and being thrown at these power conferences is insane, and it’s growing year over year exponentially. 

I don’t have an issue with capitalism working. The SEC has put together the most valuable and powerful brands in all of sports. There’s clearly a market and people are willing to pay for that product, so more power to them. 

The growing concern, however, is the SEC’s failure to reinvest in its own product and it’s starting to show. Specifically, it’s time to pay officials salaries that reflect the value of the brand and the magnitude of the games themselves. In short: stop treating officials like part-time employees and start investing in better officiating across the league immediately.

There are millions of dollars at stake in these games, coaches’ job security often hangs in the balance, and (most importantly) my emotional well-being is on the line every time a zebra spends four to 13 agonizing minutes reviewing a targeting call.

I say the last part in jest, but over the last year it feels like the officiating has been more unnecessarily impactful than ever before. And, it’s not just football. Basketball refereeing was a nightmare at times in this league, and don’t even get me started on the strike zones in softball and baseball. 

It’s rampant. It’s constant. And more than anything, it’s fixable. 

So fix it. Immediately, if not sooner. In the meantime here’s a collection of clips highlighting your part time employees damaging the brand and screwing over fans, players, and your own pockets. 

Check out more of our SEC coverage.