NEW YORK – The BIG EAST has partnered with seven other Division I conferences to establish a women’s basketball officiating alliance aimed at enhancing the quality, consistency and development of officiating through a collaborative system of assigning, training, evaluation and oversight, the conferences announced on Monday.
The BIG EAST will join the American Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference, Atlantic 10 Conference, Big South Conference, Coastal Athletic Association, Ivy League, and Metro Conference (formerly Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) in the officiating alliance, led by newly appointed Supervisor of Officials Pualani Spurlock-Welsh.
Spurlock-Welsh will work closely with the supervisors across the alliance conferences to develop officiating assignments that maximize geographic efficiencies.
"The BIG EAST is proud to play a key role in strengthening women's college basketball officiating as part of our commitment to providing the best possible experience for our student-athletes," said BIG EAST Commissioner Val Ackerman. "This alliance represents an important opportunity to collaborate in identifying, developing and supporting officials while sharing resources and expertise across the participating conferences.”
The officiating alliance will provide the following services for its members:
· Identify, recruit and retain officials.
· Enhance official training, education, mentorship, evaluation and feedback.
· Develop efficient, collaborative assigning strategies that maximize geographic efficiencies across the alliance.
· Conduct collaborative seasonal game management calls and provide updates related to alliance operations.
With over 18 years of experience as a Division I college basketball official, Spurlock-Welsh brings a wealth of knowledge from the hardwood to the supervisor role. She has been a full-time official since 2011, working more than 75 Division I women's basketball games per year, across multiple conferences. She has officiated the NCAA Tournament every year since 2011 and was selected to the Women’s Final Four on four occasions. She has also officiated in the WNBA, NBA G League and internationally.