How the referee shortage is affecting high school sports

Whether you’ve noticed, there’s a referee shortage in Acadiana. The Lafayette Officials Association averages 153 refs on record each season which is a 7.64% year-over-year increase since 2014.

Lafayette Officials Association

The biggest hurdle is simply keeping them coming back.

“Recruiting is important, but retaining them is another,” Greg Gautreaux, Regional Coordinator for the Lafayette Football Officials Association said. “Giving up a Friday for a high school football game, some may say that they’re not sure about that.”

Last season 169 officials registered within Lafayette but with this association calling games in every local parish, it’s nearly impossible to have a team of seven for each contest. That means on any given Friday, ref units are two men short.

“The game has changed so much, even a high school football game can’t be officiated properly with five on the field,” Gautreaux said.

This isn’t just happening on the gridiron.

“For the 2023-2024 basketball season, we had 25 first year officials,” Daniel Gautreaux, Regional Coordinator for the Lafayette Basketball Officials Association said. “Our hope is that we can keep 12 of them.”

Every sport simply doesn’t have enough stripes to always play on normally scheduled dates. As a result, schools see their games moved.

“We’re putting schools at a disadvantage because they get into a routine,” Daniel Gautreaux said. “They want to play Tuesday and Friday, or they want to play every Friday night.”

“It’s unfortunate, but it’s a circumstance that we have and you deal with it,” Vermilion Catholic head coach Broc Prejean said. “We tell our kids on those Thursday games that we’re not the only ones playing, our opponents are too.”

Some schools, like St. Thomas More, even hire crews from other associations in the state that allows them to keep their matchups on Friday.

However, it’s an extra expense that could cost them between $200 - $300 for travel alone.

“We’re blessed that we can move our Thursday night games to Friday and get outside,” St. Thomas More Athletic Director Kim Broussard said. “I would say that we’re in the minority.”

The hope now is that less experienced refs continue to return each year and also to attract more younger people who have interest.

That way, games can continue to happen without hesitation.

“I would hate to see high school sports not be able to have contests simply because we don’t have any officials,” Broussard said.

To become an official contact Greg Gautreaux at ggautreaux80@gmail.com or call him at 337-278-5441.
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