NIU Recreation Services employs more than 45 officials in six different sports.

As for hiring Intramural Officials, Rec Service hires student sport officials one semester in advance. The officials hired in the fall are for the immediate spring semester.

No faculty, staff, outside officials or community members are hired to officiate, making students the sole population.

“To become a sport official, you do not need any prior experience,” said Rhonda Hampton, assistant director of Intramural Sports and Sport Clubs. “We train on every aspect of the game.” The officials hired are trained per sport.

The sport that person trains in also determines how much training time is needed.

Sports such as flag football tend to be more complex, so the officials hired are put through about eight to 10 hours of rigorous training. However, sports that have less rules and regulations like volleyball require about four to six hours of training.

Training includes court and field experience, which allows the newly hired officials the opportunity to apply their knowledge of the sport.

“I had played some intramurals beforehand,” said campus rec official Adam Turchioe. “But only the sports I really loved, like baseball and football. That’s why it is so great to referee because now I am very familiar with sports I never would have gotten experience with, like basketball and indoor soccer,”

Although no prior experience is needed to become an official, there are some requirements.

The student must be CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), AED (Automated External Defibrillator), and Blood Borne Pathogen certified.

The student must also be currently enrolled at NIU and progressing towards a degree.

Intramural sports officials cover flag football, basketball, floor hockey, indoor soccer, volleyball, 16″ softball, dodgeball, wiffleball and a few other tournament sports.

Even if students become officials, they are still allowed and encouraged to participate in an intramural sport.

“Refereeing is the perfect collegiate job working about six hours per week with much flexibility around classes,” Turchioe said. “Also, you get to work with a lot of great people that make it a great experience all around. The actual work is a lot of fun as well, as you get to see a lot of great competition. In my opinion, it is probably the most fun you can have while actually working.