This year’s Fight Hunger Bowl between BYU and Washington will have an added significance, as it will be the first major college football game with multiple female referees on the officiating crew:
2013 Fight Hunger Bowl to be first bowl with female officials
It also appears to be the first FBS game with multiple female referees.
At the @FightHungerBowl committee meeting. History will be made. Two female officials working our bowl game this year.
— Mike Pereira (@MikePereira) December 13, 2013 The first time multiple women were on an NCAA officiating crew was in 2010, in a game between Menlo College and Whitworth University.
In October, four women formed the majority of the officiating crew for a Division II contest between Miles and Lane. Yvonda Lewis, Tangela Mitchell, Sabrina Brunson and Krystle Apellaniz all rose through the NFL Officiating Development Program, but it is uncertain at the moment who the women on the crew will be for this game.
Sarah Thomas is perhaps the most widely known female referee, as she was the first woman to officiate a major college football game or a bowl game. Thomas is currently a finalist to become a permanent NFL official, which would make her the first woman to hold such a position.
More from SB Nation college football:
• Interactive bowl season calendar with picks and links to more coverage:
See More:
