Mom is First Woman to Ref College Bowl Game
She orders around two little boys at home, so it’s no surprise Sarah Thomas became the first woman to ref a college bowl game this week. She’s good at what she does.
The mother of Bridley and Brady has been making a name for herself in recent years doing things her son’s have an automatic right to based simply on their gender. Thomas has gotten there based on her skills and her talent.
According to a New York Times profile earlier this year, the Mississippi native was the first in her high school to letter five times over in a sport – softball. But it was basketball that earned her a scholarship to the University of Mobile, where she took the team tot he NAIA tournament and earned academic all-American honors.
She spent eleven years reffing high school games until her big break – in 2007, she became the first woman to earn her stripes to be part of the team that refs the highest tier of college football games. She’s lobbying hard to become the first woman to ref in the NFL, with league spokespeople admitting she’s on their official list of prospects. Thomas has already started reffing scrimmages for the New Orleans Saints – not far from her hometown of Pascagoula, Miss.
This week’s Little Ceasar’s Bowl Game between Ohio and Marshall was just another step on the ladder for Thomas, one she told the AP was “an honor.”
For working moms (she’s also a pharmaceutical rep), or working parents for that matter, it’s one of those steps that makes you feel like we’re raising our kids in a society that’s getting somewhere. So she’s a woman, so it’s football – the point is? Exactly.
More by this author:
“The mother of Bridley and Brady has been making a name for herself in recent years doing things her son’s have an automatic right to based simply on their gender. Thomas has gotten there based on her skills and her talent.”
Oh, I didn’t realize that being a dude made me automatically qualified to ref a college football game. Is it good money?
Can anyone explain how one letters five times over in a single sport?
And gregor – it might not automatically qualify you, but I bet you’d get fewer strange looks and questions about your qualifications. I ref hockey (have the correct certifications for all age levels, non-professional) and have been asked by beer league guys for my certs because I “can’t know the game because I’m a girl”. Nope, can’t know a game that I’ve played for 25 years (most of it on mostly male teams, mostly travel level), now, can I?
You’re dead on gregor. If she’s a good ref, I hope she makes to the NFL.