Beleaguered Pac- 12 takes steps to address officiating

LOSANGELES>> Larry Scott is acutely aware that the Pac- 12 has been the punching bag of the power five conferences the past couple years— on and off the field.

The beleaguered commissioner is hoping the programs get back on track after conference schoolsmade the College Football Playoff only once the past four years andwent 2- 4 in New Year’s Six bowls. As for what Scott can control, he’s taking significant steps to address deficiencies in officiating.

Scott said during the conference’s media day Wednesday that the league will implement all of the recommendations froma Sibson Consulting report examining everything about the football officiating process.

The key recommendations include the head of officiating reporting directly to Scott rather than the football administrator, more consistency in grading and training fromofficiating supervisors and more transparency from the conference office in terms of questionable calls.

Scott saidWoodieDixonwill no longer be involved in any officiatingmatters. Dixon called the league’s replay command center and overruled a targeting penalty in last year’s Washington State- USC game. It was that decision that damaged the league’s credibility and was the final impetus for an outside consultant.

“That was a real straw that made us all wake up and realize we have work to do,” said Arizona State athletic director Ray Anderson, who also oversawthe report. “Those things can not be allowed to go on.”

Scott also said there have been changes with some supervisors. The report found that they generally lacked recent on- field and NFL experience as well as a lack of commentary and specifying errors made.

Themost important change for fansmight be the league office being more accountable for controversial calls. Anderson said they are not ready to go as far as having an officiating Twitter account, like what the SEC is planning, but being more nimble to immediate controversies, such as last year’s replay fiasco.

“Those types of egregious examples where we have to comeout and say that amistakewas made rather than come out Monday or Tuesdaywe should be able to address in real time,” Anderson said. “We’ve got to make sure they are real, significant issues we can talk about.”