Basketball officials set to form separate organization

RENO — For as long as most can remember, the Southern Nevada Officials Association has been the only game in town when it comes to high school officiating.

That might change for the 2009-10 basketball season.

Several officials from the SNOA have formed the Nevada Officials Association. The new group has asked the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association for sanctioning to work basketball games in the state.

“We’re not necessarily unhappy with the SNOA as we are frustrated,” said Bruce Bayne, a longtime SNOA official and president of the NOA.

“Some very pointed things happened. There were promises made by the board of control of the SNOA. They committed to make changes to get things back to where they were. Those changes were never made.

“The administration of the SNOA is more concerned with benefiting themselves. The guys we have are guys that are just trying to give back to the game.”

Bayne and veteran official Jeff Wells spoke Wednesday to the NIAA’s Board of Control and provided a list of approximately 80 officials they say are wanting to be a part of their association.

“We got to this point not without trying to mend those relationships with the leadership with the SNOA,” said Wells, who is a rules interpreter for the National Federation of High Schools but was removed from a similar position in the SNOA. “We’re trying to make it better in Southern Nevada, and I think potentially it’s going to make it better in all of Nevada.”

NIAA executive director Eddie Bonine said he’ll recommend that the board sanctions the group in September for basketball for two years.

But that could cause a couple of major problems.

With more than 50 high schools and at least that many middle schools in Southern Nevada, the NOA probably wouldn’t have enough members to cover all of the games. Neither would the SNOA after losing probably 80 officials.

“We’ll have a bid process,” said Ray Mathis, the Clark County School District’s executive athletic director and president of the NIAA Board of Control. “It’s probably a win-win situation for Clark County. It could save us money.

“I need to see what their commitment is.”

Lake Mead boys basketball coach and athletic administrator Jeff Newton said 30 officials on the list of the potential new NOA membership were “the cream of the crop.”

Newton was excited to hear Bayne say the NOA would send its officials to small-school games, as well as big schools.

“We just don’t get the best officials,” said Newton, whose school is in Class 1A. “On paper, this seems great. I’d like to see the great officials come to 1A.”

The other big problem could be a ripple effect in other sports.

Many of the officials in the new NOA also work in the SNOA for other sports. Bayne is the SNOA’s assigner for football, though he’s been told he’ll probably be removed from that post.

Because officials work multiple sports, it’s possible a football or baseball officiating crew could have members from both associations trying to work together, which could cause friction.

It’s also possible that officials who cross over to the NOA might not get the assignments they want from the SNOA in other sports, or they could get left off assignments altogether.

“Anybody in the NOA shouldn’t have that concern,” Bayne said. “There’s no resentment on our end. There are going to be people who are resentful, but you just go on and do your work. I’d hope professionalism would shine through in the SNOA.”

Said Mathis: “We’re only talking about one sport. I don’t think the SNOA would deny guys the opportunity to work other sports. We just have so many games in Clark County.”