The sound of the buzzer signaling the start of an intramural basketball game was also the signal for referees, sophomore Jacob Shockley and freshman Mark Cushing, to clock into work. With each of them having intense, stone-like looks on their faces as play got under way, it seemed as though nothing could turn their attention from what was happening on the court.
Anything could happen during the course of an intramural game. Will a fight break out? Will fans get into some sort of altercation? Will a fan or athlete argue with a ref? This particular game happened to be a playoff game between two fraternities, Sigma Phi Epsilon and Theta Xi, on Wednesday, March 12, with a championship within reach. A lot was at stake for the two teams, and Shockley and Cushing were aware of the circumstances.
"Just have them not fight," Cushing said of what he can prevent during an intense playoff game. "You just have to watch the hard fouls and that trash talking with each other."
This particular game went smoothly for the two referees with no altercations between the athletes, fans or referees. In a game like this, both Shockley and Cushing enjoy interacting with the players on the court to keep their focus on the game.
"I just interact with them, you know, kind of talk to them during play, laugh and have a good time with it," Cushing said.
Sometimes, however, games don't go as well and trash talking becomes something that referees must listen carefully for to prevent any further altercation.
"It all depends on what they say," Shockley said. "If they start saying really unsportsmanlike stuff then you have to 'T' them up or do something, but if they're like 'Oh, get that out of my house,' or something like that then it's all right."
Southeast Missouri State University offers many more intramural sports than just basketball, including flag football and softball, both of which senior Alex Meury has been a referee for and both of which offer different challenges.
"You have to worry about the fans because the fans can get rowdy and they can interrupt the game play," Meury said. "You have to worry about being in good position because if you're not in the right spot then you can't make an accurate call, and they will tear you apart for that."
However rowdy fans may get, Meury believes it is important for fans to be at the games to help their team to victory.
"If you have more fans, it's going to help your team with energy. You're going to be more excited to play because you're playing for people and you're playing in front of people," Meury said. "If you have a full, packed bench or bleachers behind you, it adds a level of intensity to your game."
Meury said that the increased intensity that the fans bring to the game also translates to the official.
"All eyes are on you because ultimately you are the judge and the jury," Meury said. "If you mess up, you're under more scrutiny. More eyes are watching you, so you have to keep composure and just stay focused. You can't lose track of what's going on because if you do, you're in big trouble."
Often times a rowdy fan or a player wrapped up in the thrill of the game will argue with a referee, according to Meury.
"You try to explain to them the best that you can about the rules because ultimately it's the rules that matter," Meury said. "If it is a judgment call, meaning like if it's a play at first, if he's out he's out, you can't overrule that. But if it is a discrepancy with a rule they can petition that call and bring out the rule book."
If the rule book does need to come out, Adam Biederman, intramural supervisor, field staff director and senior at Southeast, is there to help make the correct call. His duties do not just include helping with rule disputes, however. Biederman works in the intramural office where he is to report any on-field incidents, keep scores and times for intramural games, check players into games and help to train the referees.
The training that potential referees must go through is a three-day process, according to Biederman.
"They go to meetings and learn about the rules and take a test after that," Biederman said of the training. "They go to a second meeting after they take their test to see how they did and go over more specific rules, and on the third day we actually go out to the fields and do the sport."
Once on the field, supervisors help teach the referees what to do as the game is played live. After the training, referees are ready for their on-field duties, where Biederman said confidence is key.
"Be confident in yourself because even if you make the right call, you're still most likely going to get yelled at by some people," Biederman said. "You can't over-think, or think that your call was wrong because you can start making other calls wrong. So just stick with yourself and make the call that you think is the right one, and stick with it and don't change it because if you change it, they'll really start harassing you pretty good and it could be a long night for you."
Regardless of possible scrutiny and altercations, Biederman encourages anyone with a background and basic knowledge of sports to become an intramural referee. For those that handle the pressure well and do a good job, Biederman, along with the other supervisors, are asked to recommend the best to officiate playoff and championship games.
Shockley and Cushing were both honored with the task to be playoff game referees. After the game ended between Sigma Phi Epsilon and Theta Xi, the two had the chance to take a short break on the bleachers and look out onto the court where two more fraternities, Pi Kappa Alpha and Sigma Chi, were warming up for the start of another playoff game. Shockley and Cushing were to ref that game too, and with intense, stone-like faces, they took the court once again to await the buzzer and clock back into work.
