Bad Officiating in Black College Football: No Contest

Originally Published: HBCU Sports Blog

If you watched ESPN late Saturday night, you might have seen the number one play of the day in the country came from a heated contest between Morgan State University and Delaware State University. The play was a Delaware State 107-yard fumble return in the fourth quarter after an apparent 1-yard touchdown run by Morgan, that ultimately helped the Hornets to a 25-17 homecoming victory and a significant change in the MEAC conference championship race.

Morgan State officials have put in an appeal to have the game ruled a ‘no-contest,’ which effectively would take away the Delaware State win, and rearrange a muddle at the top of the standings between several teams, including Morgan and Delaware State.

While the conference has acknowledged mistakes on that touchdown run, and another play involving a blocked punt, they have not decided if the mistakes are critical enough to strike a win from the record. The MEAC has a very recent history with bad play calling, with three officials being suspended for “inaccurate calls” in a September game between Bethune-Cookman University and Norfolk State.

Sadly, these types of occurrences can add to the perception of black college football as subpar competition to other football conferences. While many of the nation’s top high school athletes are attracted to larger, traditionally white institutions for better facilities and more exposure, the four historically black athletic conferences (MEAC, SWAC, CIAA, SIAC) field quality competition and are proving to be a viable attraction on the national landscape. ESPNU broadcasts a full slate of black college football and basketball classics, and other notable match ups, while other networks such as Comcast and Cox Cable also broadcast regionally popular games.

The instances are few, but they are one too many for colleges and conferences that are competing in recruiting and fan support from larger institutions. Earlier this month, Prairie View A&M football coach Henry Frazier III blasted officials (in a game his team won) for inaccurate calls. The SWAC commissioner did acknowledge errors in officiating in the 17-7 victory for Prairie View over Alcorn State, in which PVAM was penalized 9 times for 78 yards.

Officials are always going to be called into question on close calls at close times, but a steady level of inconsistency with officiating diminishes much more than what happens on the field or court.