Southeastern conference officials ready to start season
Changes are coming to nearly every conference in college football
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Changes are coming to nearly every conference in college football.
Next season, the SEC will be growing to include Texas and Oklahoma. Some of the biggest conferences are making significant changes over the next couple of years.
The Southeastern Conference will be welcoming Texas and Oklahoma at the end of the 2023-2024 season. S.E.C replay official Stan Murray spent some time talking football to the Lowndes County exchange club on Thursday.
“The process of evaluating things like catch vs. no catch, targeting on replay because those things tend to be the most important and the ones we see most often,” said Murray.
Murray is a former Buulldog and spent years as a referee before becoming a replay official.
He said there are changes just about every year. Some are just bigger than others.
“The thing I enjoy as a replay official, those things like changes in the conferences, changes in this team and that team doesn’t matter to us the only thing that matter is the game,” said Murray.
People often know how the teams travel, but what about the officials?
“For us in the SEC the fact that we’re a regional conference and we’re in the southeastern U.S. makes our travel a little bit easier. We have the option of flying or driving whatever suits us the best. Guys that are still working Monday through Friday at another job besides football officiating they’re going to have to fly to make the best use of their times,” said Murray.
With the season slated to start in just over two weeks Murray says his excitement is bubbling up again for his favorite time of the year.
“The fact that it’s another season and I’m signed up ready to go again makes me happy every football season,” said Murray.
College football season begins on August 26, but Mississippi State and Ole Miss will have their first games on September 2, 2023.
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