Big Sky to introduce replay in football and basketball
The Big Sky Conference announced Saturday it will offer replay for football and basketball officials for every game held at conference venues during the 2015-16 season.
The Big Sky, which includes Sacramento State and UC Davis in football and the Hornets in men’s and women’s basketball, has signed an agreement with DVSport to provide equipment at all 13 conference football stadiums and 12 basketball arenas.
“Not only is replay becoming more prevalent in the rule book, but there is also an expectation that replay will be used when fans watch a game on TV or attend a game,” Big Sky Conference commissioner Doug Fullerton said in a release.
“We put a very high-quality product of college athletics on the field, and having replay for our officials will only increase the experience for fans, coaches and student-athletes. I commend the presidents and administrators of our universities for understanding the importance of this technology, and investing the resources to make this a reality.”
Big Sky officials said replay is used in every Football Bowl Subdivision conference and in the Football Championship Subdivision postseason. Several FCS conferences have begun implementing replay for some or all games during the regular season.
Big Sky universities have been preparing their facilities to house replay equipment.
Director of football officials Karl Richins has identified, hired and trained officials to handle replay. Fullerton said they will travel throughout the year with the same seven-man officiating crews.
Not only is replay becoming more prevalent in the rule book, but there is also an expectation that replay will be used when fans watch a game on TV or attend a game.
Big Sky Conference commissioner Doug Fullerton
“That person upstairs plays a vital role in working with our on-field officials,” Fullerton said.
In football, the Big Sky Conference consists of UC Davis, Sac State, Cal Poly, Portland State, Southern Utah, Weber State, Idaho State, Eastern Washington, Montana, Montana State, Northern Colorado, North Dakota and Northern Arizona.
All those schools play men’s and women’s basketball in the Big Sky except UC Davis and Cal Poly, which belong to the Big West Conference. Idaho is a member of the Big Sky in basketball but not football.
Bill Paterson: 916-326-5506, @SacBee_BillP
This story was originally published July 18, 2015 at 6:50 PM with the headline "Big Sky to introduce replay in football and basketball."