Out of Bounds The Men Who Wear the Stripes In any college basketball game, there is a man that goes largely unrecognized: the referee If a player is performing at his peak, he stands out. and the crowd cheers him If a referee is at his best, he is practically in visible. and the crowd ignores him It the player has a bad game, he sits on the bench and rests A referee, on the other hand, can't rest, and even the smallest lapse on his part can affect the game and start thousands of tans screaming ai him This may not sound like an at tractive job description. However, to a select few becoming a college referee is the culmination of years of work and dedication. There are approximately 3J referees currently working in the Pacific-10. according to Frank McIntyre, head of officials for the conference it was not easy for them to reach that level "The official you see on the court tor a University of Oregon game generally lias 10 to 12 Frani Optical Ask about our 15% discount to students and faculty" 6\> s49 Quality eyewear need not be expensive Wk SINGLE VISION H PRESCRIP’ ON LENSES H AND FRAMES 3jj • v ■ group c‘ •asr,-)irt .1 »4) Ami h/4k itshxitfhtn gri ruutrmr Al The Will Street _ >xunal.*r reotfm/r that rxpr net* r is •-xnrthimj vuj rti a head start by prmiritnK ‘-•me (it the same ounprtitivr .id vantages thiit ex per tenor brings ht instance. mi wxk* nu*png news o (verage guvs v« «i a t Irant umletslamluii'«the * h *r a it^ilrx vM*kl (4 business Our tightly fmusrd feature rr texting prepare* vru frn vrtit n»*e 4MMfn .imUtms whether in marwtgnnent. am tinting. finance. techm^igY. marketing it small business Ami ixu in depth .utdysis heli»s v«*i fcxmulatr yrxu idea* in a sharper ami mure |tersiuisive w.iv Call 100-87 UOO* Ext K*6 tv mail thru up vi and start viur t subAcnptuwi U> I "hr Wc»JI Slrrr! >urnal at siudrm *avtnRinf up <41 thr n*joiLu vjIim np Ikfiprur WKf Thai'% a fvrttv flmm u> . 4tn Kapmally whm >muf**irr *hat i( .ktuaih rrjm-n-nls lullkr\ It* ihr rr.il vm*W lib iutambr, cal (W> 257 120)71 (jit K)66 toil fret VW >W ■**«* .4 J W «M> Mrt< >« »—■ The Wall Street Journal . !?«»,> r±+++»r> * <*»■**— avn | ’In PmflayHtn* c*M kUU 222 1MO Ut H**> years of experience and appren ticeship behind him." said McIntyre. "They usually siart in high school and work up through community colleges. "Then, to become an official in the Pac-10. they must attend a try out camp where they are judged on their performance both on and off the court.” he said. During the season, a referee Cannot work more than three games a week "There arc occasionally ex ccptions to that, usually early in the season.” said McIntyre "An official might work a tour nament and do more games, but ordinarily they can't do more than three " Because of this, the refs are able to carry on professional lives outside of basketball. "We have lawyers, school superintendents, executives from computer companies, teachers people from all sorts of occupations." said McIntyre. Once an official works his way up to the Pac-10 level, he can't rest on his laurels. His performance is constantly monitored. Alter a game, each referee s performance is rated by the crew chief and by a Pac-10 observer. The coaches also have a say in grading the officials. "At the end of the year, the coaches rate each man's perfor mance," said McIntyre "From that, they figure out a top 20.” The officials also must stay in good physical condition. "A referee typically runs about five miles three times a week," said McIntyre "Also, if we see that one is becoming overweight, we'll get on his tail until he is back in shape." This year the college officials have a new rule to contend with; the three point shot A shot made from behind the three point line. 19 ft 9 in from the basket, is worth three points in stead of two. According to McIntyre, it isn't the officials who have been feeling the effects of this rule "It really hasn’t affected the officiating at all,” he said, "but it has had an effect on the play ing of the game itself. It has brought a new type of player in to importance: the little guy who Photo by Ross Martin can make those shots from outside "The one comment we've been hearing is that 19 ft 9 in. isn't far enough.” For a g