ACC would blow the whistle first

The Baltimore Sun

PINEHURST, N.C. -- With an NBA referee scandal hogging the headlines, the question of officiating integrity is likely to be raised throughout the sports world. But the Atlantic Coast Conference is ready with an answer - and has been since last summer.

In light of allegations that an NBA referee bet on games, including ones he officiated, ACC commissioner John Swofford addressed the issue yesterday at the ACC Football Kickoff media event.

For the second season, the ACC is requiring all of its approximately 225 officials for football and men's and women's basketball to allow the league to conduct a background check. Every official will be checked once every four years, and roughly 75 checks are conducted each year.

"I'm very glad we're doing it," Swofford said. "It's not a catch-all, end-all by any means, but it does show a proactive way of looking at this and raises red flags if there are any to be raised."

The only other league that has background checks for its officials is the Big Ten, Swofford said. While the Big Ten uses an internal computerized system, the ACC chose to hire a private investigation firm run by Les Pico, the director of player development for the Minnesota Vikings. The cost is $10,000 to $12,000 per year.

The NCAA has done background checks on its referees during basketball tournaments for the past several years, and Swofford said last season was the first time for officials for bowl games. Pico also assists the NCAA in its checks.

Since the checks began last year, there have been "a few situations" the league has looked into, but no official has been rejected, and all have agreed to the background checks, said assistant commissioner Shane Lyons, who coordinates the checks.

Swofford said the system is "preventative in nature," and "there wasn't anything we saw that concerned us, that stimulated our belief we should take this route. It was simply the fact that this whole issue of gambling is so prevalent throughout our society. ... We've spent a lot of time focusing on it, trying to educate our student-athletes."

Officials who want to work in the ACC must authorize a private investigative firm to look into their backgrounds. Their initial paperwork also asks about any history of sports gambling, but it is the background check that delves into personal records for any clues. Credit card debt, substance abuse, driving records and criminal history are checked at the local, state and federal levels.

There are roughly 75 officials for each sport, and each one must go through this process before being hired. It takes five to 10 days for each file to be processed, and the checks are done between April and August. The cost is about $135 per person.

"It's not much of a budget issue," Swofford said.

Notes --Swofford said the league is waiting for bids from Charlotte, N.C., and three Florida sites - Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville - to host ACC championship football games from 2008 to 2010. Aug. 31 is the deadline for those cities to submit their proposals. Swofford said he anticipates a decision in the first half of December. It could be one or a combination of the sites.

heather.dinich@baltsun.com

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