After taking a beating this season for the sub-par performance of officials in Pac Ten games, Verle Sorgen, the conference's coordinator of referees, has announced his retirement.
Sorgen held the position for 21 years, after serving as a referee himself for as many--but none was as turbulent as 2006.
Who can forget the Oregon-Oklahoma game where the officials not only botched the replay but then gave the ball to the wrong team? The 15-minute review-and-re-review of a touchdown in the USC-Oregon game later that year likely led to the institution of a new time-limit by the NCAA.
And although Sorgen is said to be, " recognized nationally as one of the experts on the rules of college football and on officiating mechanics," his officiating crews were recognized blogophere-wide for their incompetence in 2006.
