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Pac-12, Mountain West to form officiating alliance

Sean Miler

Arizona head coach Sean Miller, center-left, with clipboard, talks to his team as they gather near the Pac-12 logo on the court prior to the start of a Pac-12 NCAA college basketball game against Washington, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

AP

There were a few incidents involving officials over the last few months, both in the season and offseason, and as a result, it’s a made college basketball take notice.

While the NCAA has its own dean of officials (John Adams), conferences handle their own referees as well, which is why the Mountain West and the Pac-12 conferences are teaming up to form an officiating alliance.

All officials working within those two conferences will be subject to the same reviews and essentially, from that standpoint, the refs will be in the same conference.

Bobby Diebler will be the coordinator of officials. Diebler worked three Finals Fours as an official and spent 14 years as the Mountain West coordinator of officials. Ed Rush held that same position with the Pac-12. But, well, we all know what happened.

The leagues will also participate in a clinic with several other west coast-oriented conferences such as the Big West, WAC and West Coast Conference to better train the referees.

In addition to Diebler, the alliance will appoint a deputy coordinator to oversee evaluation and training.

“Our objective is to provide the best officiating program for our teams and student-athletes,” Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott said in a statement. “Under this new alliance, we will be better positioned to attract top lead officials, and to achieve the greatest consistency and accountability deserving of our excellent basketball programs. This alliance also allows us to further develop a rigorous training, evaluation and development program for the next generation of elite officials.”

“The Mountain West is very excited about this new venture with the Pac-12 Conference and the overall goal of improving men’s basketball officiating in both leagues should be readily apparent,” said Craig Thompson, Commissioner of the Mountain West. “Bobby Dibler has decades of experience and we are confident that he will aptly build one of the best staffs in the country.”

Follow David Harten on Twitter at @David_Harten