NBA to Also Draw From College Ranks for Referees Next Season

College basketball will pay part of the price when the NBA adds a third official in games next season.

The NBA already has contacted several top college referees about joining the league. The NBA will add at least 16 officials to its staff, the majority of which will come from the college game.

“We’ve got 34, counting Darell Garretson (NBA supervisor of officials), and we want to have 50,� said Rod Thorn, the NBA’s vice president for operations.�We’ll get a few through our training program with the CBA, maybe four or five, but the rest will be college officials.

“There are some we’ve watched this year, some we’ve known about and talked to before, and some we’re getting to know now.�

Thorn said the NBA hoped to have at least 10 new officials hired next month. A few of those may have to prove themselves in various summer leagues, but Thorn said top college refs won’t have to go through any type of tryout.

Among those the NBA has contacted are five officials who often work in the Atlantic Coast Conference and Big East. They are Joe Forte, Louis Grillo, Hank Armstrong, Nolan Fine and Dick Paparo. Forte has worked in the past two NCAA Final Fours and is considered among the best college officials.

“It would be a blow to our league to lose any of them,� said Fred Barakat, the ACC’s supervisor of officials. “But we have lost proven officials before and we haven’t missed a beat.�

Henry Nichols, the NCAA’s coordinator of officiating, said the loss of several top officials would be felt more in the NCAA tournament than the regular season.

“I’d be concerned to a point,� Nichols said. “I’d hate to lose them. But it’s like anything else, there is always a guy waiting who hasn’t had the opportunity.�

Nichols said the NBA hasn’t approached college officials since the league endured an officials strike a few years ago. That invitation was rejected by college officials, who chose not to cross the pro union.

NBA officials are full-time employees who earn anywhere from the high-$30,000s to $100,000, depending upon experience and tenure. The NBA also has a solid benefits and retirement package.

College officials are paid from game to game and earn from $250 to $650, depending upon their experience, conference affiliation and per diem. A top official, such as Forte, will work between 60-80 games and clear an average of at least $300 per game after expenses.