Shortage of officials to create numerous schedule changes in 2022 high school football season

It’s here.

Get ready for major changes to the Oklahoma high school football season.

For the past few years, an ever-growing shortage of officials in high school sports has become more of an issue across the country. It’s a problem that has been discussed numerous times for all sports, but football is where the shortage is really taking shape.

And in the 2022 football season, expect to see noticeable schedule changes because of the shortage of officials.

Starting this fall, expect a handful of games played on Thursday nights instead of a loaded Friday schedule. There simply aren’t enough officiating crews to cover the 150-plus games that normally occur every Friday during the season.

That means more Thursday night football games for all classifications. There even could be some cases where teams are forced to play Saturday.

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“We simply do not have 160 crews available to cover 160 games,” said David Gore, a longtime official.

What that means is simple. Although a team may have finalized its schedule, some of its games planned for Friday could be played on a Thursday.

In addition, there’s also a higher probability of crews having only four officials at a game instead of five.

Gore said he has been in contact with the Oklahoma Football Coaches Association advisory committee, which is aware of the problem and has offered to help.

The OSSAA is likely going to ask schools to volunteer to play games on Thursday night to help alleviate the stress on officials. A specific number hasn’t been set, but Gore estimates about 25, give or take a few, games will need to be played on Thursdays.

In a normal year, there’s anywhere from five to 10 games on Thursdays. That's a 250% increase.

And that’s just changes in football. There are shortages in every sport.

Baseball. Basketball. Soccer. Softball.

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The problems are even worse at the junior varsity level, where this year, coaches were warned of possibly not being able to play because of the official shortage. Next year, that problem is likely more serious.

“We’re doing everything we can to not only recruit new officials but retain them,” Gore said.

More officials are retiring than are signing up to call games. Of those who sign up, many of them don’t stay past the first couple years, with studies showing the main culprit being fan, coach and player behavior to officials.

The OSSAA has done numerous things to try and improve fan and coach behavior toward officials, but the association has also stepped up its recruiting efforts in recent years.

Pay for all officials has been increased. The OSSAA has been more active across the state trying to let people know about the shortage and how they could help.

The bottom line is unless more people sign up to be officials, the problem is only going to get worse. Football games on Saturday will become a reality, and in a college football state, that is something not many want to do.

The crews who do call games every week will have to call two, and possibly three, varsity high school games. Then they run the risk of burnout and stepping away.

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Officiating is for anyone. I called football and basketball games for four years and plan to eventually do it again.

But Oklahoma needs officials. The country needs them, too, but communities across the state need officials.

There are numerous benefits as far as becoming an official. They make their own schedule and plan around other events they have. Officials get paid well.

And if you’re good enough, you could be calling state championship games at Chad Richison Stadium or the Big House before too long.

The officials’ shortage issue is here, after years of warnings, but it doesn’t have to stay that way. If you’re interested in becoming an official, the best way is to visit the OSSAA website to learn how to get involved in any sport.

Oklahoma high school sports need officials. Why not be part of the solution?

Cameron Jourdan covers high school sports across the Oklahoma City metro and state. Have a story idea for Cameron? He can be reached at cjourdan@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @Cam_Jourdan. Support Cameron’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com or by using the link at the top of this page.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Official shortage will create schedule issues in 2022 football season