Texas needs Referees

There's a referee shortage in Texas high school sports. It could result in moving football and basketball games to different days and nights.

Michael Fitch with the Texas Association of Sports Officials says Houston and Harris County are okay.

"There's a shortage down there but I wouldn't call it a crisis."

Fitch says the crisis is in west Texas.

"In Houston you've got a lot of schools that are within a 30 or 40 mile radius of downtown Houston but when you get out in west Texas the schools start spreading out and so do our members."

The answer is probably what you'd expect. Fitch says more money wouldn't hurt.

"I think that most of the officials -- especially the good ones -- don't do it for the money, they do it for the love of the game. But still, they don't want to lose money."

Fitch says refs get sixty bucks a game and that's not always enough to pay for the travel needed in the wide open spaces of west Texas.

Fitch says the "Battlefields to Ballfields" program is helping by subsidizing service members who become high school referees.


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