Be the Referee: Ratings
January 5, 2017
This week, MHSAA assistant director Mark Uyl explains how Michigan's high school officials are evaluated for their game performance.
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 – Ratings - Listen
Just about every sports fan, at one time or another, has left a game wondering, “How do the officials get evaluated or graded for their performance during a game?” At the high school level, the MHSAA has the school rating system to where following each game both teams submit a rating for the official’s work. The rating, on a 1 through 5 scale, is then sent to the MHSAA Office and these ratings are compiled over a three-year period. An official then has a rating average, and the schools can also indicate areas for improvement or growth that they deem are appropriate. Those rating numbers then determine what officials are first used in postseason play.
Past editions
Dec. 22: Video Review - Part 2 - Listen
Dec. 15: Video Review - Part 1 - Listen
Dec. 8: Registration - Part 2 - Listen
Dec. 1: Registration - Part 1 - Listen
Nov. 24: You Make the Call - Sleeper Play - Listen
Nov. 17: Automatic 1st Downs - Listen
Nov. 10: Uncatchable Pass - Listen
Nov. 3: The Goal Line - Listen
Oct. 27: Help Us Retain Officials - Listen
Oct. 20: Point After Touchdown - Listen
Oct. 13: Untimed Down - Listen
Oct. 6: Soccer Penalty Kick Change - Listen
Sept. 29: Preparation for Officials - Listen
Sept 22: You Make the Call: Returning Kickoffs - Listen
Sept. 15: Concussions - Listen
Sept 8: Equipment Covering the Knees - Listen
Sept. 1: Play Clock Experiment - Listen
Aug. 25: Clipping in the Free Blocking Zone - Listen
Be the Referee: Dead Ball Penalty
By
Paige Winne
MHSAA Director of Brand Management
September 15, 2026
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 – Dead Ball Penalty - Listen
We’ve got 4th-and-10 on the football field today. Team A has the ball on their own 40 and is going for it.
The quarterback scrambles and is pushed out of bounds at the 49-yard line, one yard short of a first down.
A defensive player from Team B hits the quarterback after he’s been pushed out of bounds and is flagged for a dead-ball personal foul. Where should the ball be marked and who has possession?
Is it 1st-and-10 for Team A at Team B’s 36-yard line? Or does the defense get the ball, 1st-and-10 for Team B at their own 36?
If you said Team B’s ball, you are correct. The personal foul was a dead-ball penalty that is enforced after the change of possession.
Previous 2026-27 editions
Sept. 8: Libero Ejected - Listen
Sept. 1: Soccer Foul After Shot on Goal - Listen
Aug. 25: Fumble Out of Bounds - Listen