Referee Shortage In North East Oklahoma Could Cause Changes To Game Schedule

Football is back in Oklahoma, with hundreds of players ready to take the field each week, there's one obstacle that could stand in their way.

“The shortage has been going on for quite some time and we're still in the middle of it,” said Ethan Rolen, President of the Greater Tulsa Officials Association

There's been a referee shortage in northeast Oklahoma for the last few years. Rolen believes it could be from a time commitment issue,

“It's hard to fit everything in, just because of the way things are, and I think that's part of it and it's hard to fit in family and work and officiating,” said Rolen.

But the ones who do stick around stay for their love of the game.

"It's a thankless job, but again somebody's got to do it," said Kevin Mykeloff. 

Mykeloff is on his 15th season as an official, but he's also a junior high game assigned. 

“I have over 50 schools from Bristow, all the way to south Coffeyville, to Pawhuska, and then myself and a handful of other guys assign all the varsity games,” Mykeloff said.

Mykeloff said the shortage can make his job harder.

“With an official shortage, we've had to ask schools to move their games to Tuesdays and Thursdays so that we have the games covered,” he said.

Both Mykeloff and Rolen said it's a problem that happens nearly every night of the week.

“It's not just a Friday night deal, it's a Monday night, Tuesday night, Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday afternoon, Saturday morning,” Rolen said. 

But throughout the shortage, both Rolen and Mykeloff come back each season because they understand the impact they have on the field, “after a game when a kid comes up and shakes your hand and says thanks for coming tonight, it's cool, it's worth it,” said Rolen. 

Ideally, each game has five referees, but officials say they have been making do with four, sometimes three. To learn more about how to become a referee, CLICK HERE.