Be the Referee: Football Rules Changes
August 23, 2018
In this week's edition, assistant director Brent Rice discusses a pair of rules changes coming to high school football this fall.
Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.
Below is this week's segment – Football Rules Changes - Listen
The biggest rules changes in high school football across the country this year involve player safety.
When any required player equipment is missing or worn improperly, an official's time-out shall be declared, and the player must come out of the game for one down. This includes players not wearing knee or thigh pads or rolling their pant legs up over their knees and equipment such as shoulder pads or back pads being exposed.
The other change continues to hone the definition of a defenseless player, this time affecting the quarterback once he has thrown the ball and becomes a passer. Until that time, he is defined as a runner. As a passer, he continues to be defenseless until the pass ends or he moves to participate in the play.
The penalty for hitting a defenseless player is 15 yards.
Be the Referee: Basketball Replay
By
Paige Winne
MHSAA Marketing & Social Media Coordinator
March 12, 2024
Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.
Below is this week's segment – Basketball Replay - Listen
When watching a college or NBA game, the last two minutes of the game can seem like it takes forever, especially in recent years where more and more judgment calls made by officials are subject to instant replay.
At the high school level, video is not used to make a ruling or confirm or overturn a call made during the course of the contest. The only time video review is used in basketball at the high school level is at the MHSAA Semifinal and Final games.
In these games, video review can be used only to determine if a shot was released in time at the end of the fourth quarter or overtime or if that shot was a 2-point or 3-point field goal attempt.
The MHSAA believes that this very limited use of replay in these games at the very end of the tournament series in boys and girls basketball is the right call.
Previous Editions
March 5: Hockey Officials - Listen
Feb. 27: Less Than 5 - Listen
Feb. 20: Air Ball - Listen
Feb. 13: Hockey Penalties - Listen
Jan. 30: Wrestling Tiebreakers - Listen
Jan. 23: Wrestling Technology - Listen
Jan. 9: 3 Seconds - Listen
Dec. 19: Unsuspecting Hockey Hits - Listen
Dec. 12: No More One-And-Ones - Listen
Nov. 21: Football Finals Replay - Listen
Nov. 14: Volleyball Unplayable Areas - Listen
Nov. 7: Pass/Kick Off Crossbar - Listen
Oct. 31: Cross Country Interference - Listen
Oct. 24: Soccer Overtime - Listen
Oct. 17: Tennis Spin - Listen
Oct. 10: Blocked Kick - Listen
Oct. 3: Volleyball Double & Lift - Listen
Sept. 26: Registration Process - Listen
Sept. 20: Animal Interference - Listen
Sept. 13: Feet Rule on Soccer Throw-In - Listen
Sept. 6: Volleyball Jewelry - Listen
Aug. 30: Football Rules Similarities - Listen
Aug. 23: Football Rules Differences - Listen