Indiana launches Officiating 101 to train the next generation of refs

Indiana’s officials pipeline is shrinking fast enough to change how games get staffed, scheduled and judged. The Indiana High School Athletic Association says its officiating count has fallen 20 percent in three years, from about 250,000 to 200,000, and the response is not just recruitment rhetoric. It is a structured entry path, from classroom training to provisional licensing to association meetings and clinics, built to keep small-school basketball supplied with competent referees.

Why the shortage matters on winter nights

The drop in officials is not a paperwork problem. It affects whether games can be assigned at all, how far crews have to travel and how much experience ends up on the floor in tight, physical contests. Ed Gilliland, the IHSAA official who has tracked the numbers, said licensed officials rose by 43 from 2015-16 to 2016-17, then declined by more than 1,000 per year through 2021-22. That is the kind of steady erosion that leaves schools leaning on the same veteran officials repeatedly, while newer ones have fewer chances to learn in lower-pressure settings.

Indiana is not alone, but the statewide pressure is still real. The National Federation of State High School Associations reported 237,811 officials’ registrations across 36 state associations in 2024-25, up 14,432 from the previous year and 8 percent above pre-pandemic 2018-19 numbers. Even so, the federation also noted that registrations dipped to 189,140 in 2019-20 after an estimated loss of 50,000 officials during the pandemic, which shows how fragile the pool became. Indiana’s effort is aimed at building its own pipeline before that fragility turns into a scheduling crunch.

What Officiating 101 is designed to do

Officiating 101 is the IHSAA’s school-based answer, developed with RefReps and approved by the Indiana Department of Education. The program is meant to build communication, management and leadership skills, and the IHSAA Foundation says it gives students access to sport-training and rule modules, including NFHS rules, while creating an avenue for employment both during high school and after graduation.

That matters because the state is trying to turn officiating from an afterthought into a visible career track. Students who complete the course and exam can become eligible for an IHSAA provisional license after registering in myIHSAA, which gives them a way to start working lower-level contests while still enrolled in high school. The Foundation says that provisional step is central to the model: students can learn the rules, apply them in real games and stay in the system long enough to grow into full licensed officials.

The grant backing behind the program shows that Indiana wants the curriculum inside schools, not just on a website. The IHSAA Foundation’s grant awards for Officiating 101 range from $2,700 to $7,560, and the 2024-25 release funded eight member schools with more than $32,000 in support. The 2025-26 release funded 10 schools, with support meant to activate the curriculum during the school day and, in some cases, earn PE credit toward graduation.

The licensing ladder from student to official

The practical route into officiating is clear enough to map. Prospective officials must register, take a computer-generated open-book test, score at least 75 percent, be a high school graduate, and provide a valid email address and phone number. The application fee is $50 for up to three sports in one year, and the IHSAA says the test is online and not timed. Rules books are sent seasonally for the sport being applied for, so the process is tied to the calendar of each sport rather than a single one-size-fits-all exam.

Once licensed, the system does not stop at the test. The IHSAA says there are 24 officials associations statewide, and new officials are encouraged to join one of them and attend annual rules interpretation meetings. Annual clinics are also part of the structure, including basketball clinics held at locations throughout the state. That mix of local association work and seasonal instruction is what turns a license into on-court judgment, especially in a sport where positioning, whistle timing and game management can matter as much as the rule book itself.

Why schools are part of the solution

Officiating 101 is built to reach students where they already are. The IHSAA says 51 Indiana high schools incorporated RefReps in the 2022-23 school year, with more than 100 expected the next year, a sign that schools are becoming part of the recruiting infrastructure. That is important in a state where the officiating shortage touches all 22 sports the IHSAA sanctions, not just basketball.

By bringing rule study and video-based instruction into schools, the state is widening the funnel before students ever have to choose whether to keep officiating after graduation. It also makes the work less mysterious. Instead of treating refereeing as something that appears only when an assignment email arrives, the program presents it as a skill set with a starting point, a test, a provisional phase and a support network.

Recognition is part of retention

Indiana also knows officials stay longer when the job carries public respect. The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame honors top referees through its Center Circle Officials Award, which recognizes contributions to Indiana high school basketball at the men’s and women’s banquets. Winners are permanently inscribed on a plaque and featured in the museum, a visible reminder that officiating is part of the sport’s identity, not just background labor.

The timing of recent honors makes that point concrete. The 2025 men’s Center Circle officials were announced on December 3, 2024, and honored on March 19, 2025. The 2025 women’s officials were honored at the April 26, 2025 women’s banquet. Those dates matter because they show the state is pairing pipeline-building with formal recognition, which helps tell younger officials that the work is seen and valued.

That message also comes through in the experience of Weinzapfel, a 23-year-old Evansville-area official who said criticism and pressure are a major factor in the shortage. He passed the basketball licensing exam and earned IHSAA certification in July 2024 after graduating from the University of Southern Indiana, a reminder that the path can begin close to home and move quickly when the structure is there.

Indiana’s answer to the shortage is not a single class or a one-year push. It is a layered system built around school partnerships, licensing rules, association support, seasonal training and public recognition. If that system holds, the next generation of referees will not just keep games on the schedule. It will decide how well Indiana basketball is officiated for the next decade.