What's My Why: Official Mike Pereira
August 13, 2026
Mike Pereira, Sacramento (Calif.)
Pereira is a former college and NFL football official who later became vice president of officiating for the National Football League. He is currently the head of officiating for the United Football League, and since 2010 has served as a rules analyst for Fox Sports and become one of the leading voices for officials, offering insight to TV audiences which had never been provided before his work.
He also is the founder of Battlefields to Ballfields, a national foundation that provides military veterans with scholarships, training, and mentorship to become sports officials, helping them reintegrate into their communities through the camaraderie of officiating. Pereira was the opening speaker at Officiate Michigan Day in July.
I didn’t want to officiate when they first came to me.
I said, “No.”
I said, “My dad had officiated. I don’t have any desire to.”
And they said, “Well why?”
And I said, “Because I don’t.”
“Because your dad officiated.”
“Maybe that’s it.”
I used to go to games and watch him get yelled at. And then they said, “It’s $10 a game. Three games. Thirty dollars, cash.”
I was a college student with no money. I said, “Yeah, I always thought I wanted to officiate.” And out I went. And it was kind of interesting, that first quarter of the first game, that first Pop Warner game, the parents are yelling at me, I didn’t know what I was doing, little kids running around.
And it was like somebody injected me with adrenaline. I found my passion in life.
As stupid as that maybe sounds, I found my passion in life. Thirty dollars is what I started to work for.
“What’s My Why” is a weekly feature telling the stories of MHSAA-registered officials in their own words. If you’re an MHSAA official and would like to share your reason why, please submit a 15 to 45-second video, taken horizontally, to director of officials Sam Davis at [email protected].
What's My Why
Aug. 5: Dino Paganelli, Wyoming - Watch
Aug. 3: Stacy Smith, Caledonia - Watch
July 22: Jason Nickleby, Lake Elmo, Minn. - Watch
July 15: Sam Davis, Lansing - Watch
July 9: Candace Cox, Quincy - Watch
July 1: Robert Williams, Redford - Watch
June 24: Will Godfrey, Jackson - Watch
June 19: Jarrett Skorup, Midland - Watch
June 12: Brady Driver, Sturgis - Watch
June 8: Cindy Tyzo, West Bloomfield - Watch
June 3: Jeff Spedoske, DeWitt - Watch
June 1: Mike Carrier, Commerce Township - Watch
May 27: Stan Wright, Warren - Watch
May 26: Murray Rose, Zeeland - Watch
May 22: Mike VanLaan, Alto - Watch
May 18: Clint Abbott, Newaygo - Watch
Why They Don’t Officiate Anymore
December 16, 2016
Several years ago, the Michigan High School Athletic Association produced a series of radio and television spots in which MHSAA registered officials explain why they officiate. For the third time in the past 12 years (2004, 2012, 2016), the MHSAA conducted an extensive survey of former MHSAA officials to identify the reasons individuals have left the avocation of high school officiating.
From the 1,065 responses to the 2016 survey, it is demonstrated that career and job changes continue to be the top reason why individuals leave officiating. This has been the No. 1 reason in all three surveys.
Local association politics was again the No. 2 reason, which was the same second place reason in 2012. However, in the 2004 survey results, local association politics was sixth. This illuminates the reality that over the past 12 years there has been a significant shift from local schools hiring officials to using assigners in many, if not all, sports. The concerns are not so much with the association itself (training, recruiting, retaining) but with the assigning dynamic within the association or local area. Many recent MHSAA policy changes and most MHSAA in-service training have focused directly on assigners, and this survey confirms that this must continue and expand.
The next three most common reasons for leaving MHSAA officiating continue to be lack of sportsmanship by coaches, lack of sportsmanship by spectators, and low game compensation. The sportsmanship concerns from these adults must be continually addressed by all MHSAA constituent groups to improve the working conditions for officials.
The MHSAA increased tournament officiating fees at the start of the 2016-17 school year, and many local leagues and conferences have done the same. The reality is that many leagues and conferences are still playing “catch up” from the long fee freezes in the late 2000s and early 2010s when Michigan schools were in historically bad financial shape.
A significant reason to leave officiating seen in all three surveys is the official’s family situation. Many have indicated they left officiating due to time away from their spouse or children, or because of travel time or a family move. These reasons have been in the top 10 in all three surveys, and could have ranked higher had these individual questions been combined into one single category.
One troubling trend from the 2016 survey is that lack of sportsmanship by players was inside the top 10 (No. 7) for the first time since 2004. In 2012, this issue with students was No. 11. This may show that players are much more apt to argue, criticize or demonstratively disagree with calls than years ago.
(This posting was prepared with the assistance of MHSAA Assistant Director Mark Uyl.)