McDaid named Sun Belt, SEC Coordinator of Football Officials

NEW ORLEANS – John McDaid, a veteran of football officiating for more than three decades, including 24 years on the collegiate level, and a head referee in three NCAA Division I conferences since 2006, has been named Sun Belt Conference Coordinator of Football Officials, Commissioner Keith Gill announced Monday.

McDaid, a 1987 graduate of Harvard, replaces Steve Shaw, who served as the football officiating coordinator for the Sun Belt (2014-19) and Southeastern Conference (2011-19). Shaw was recently named college football’s national coordinator by the board of managers for the College Football Officiating, LLC.

McDaid has served as a referee in the SEC since 2015, following two years in the same position with the American Athletic Conference. He was a referee in the Big East Conference from 2006-12 and a back judge in the Big East from 2001-05.

Under a cooperative agreement between the Sun Belt and SEC, McDaid will also serve as Coordinator of Football Officials for both conferences.

“I am excited to serve in a leadership position that will afford me the opportunity to transition from leading a crew of eight officials on the field to developing and supporting an entire staff of officials in the Southeastern Conference and Sun Belt Conference,” McDaid said. “I am committed to building on the solid foundation established by Steve Shaw and others before him to ensure the best officials are serving both conferences at the highest level.”

McDaid has worked on the field for 16 postseason bowl games, including four College Football Playoff New Year’s Six games and the 2010 Bowl Championship Series title game. He was also the referee for the 2017 SEC Championship Game and worked the Emerald Isle Classic between Notre Dame and Navy in Dublin, Ireland in 2012 as well as the Army-Navy game in 2013.

McDaid has worked professionally in positions of identifying, designing, capturing, engineering and delivering high technology solutions for government and commercial customers. He has worked in a sales director position for Microsoft Corporation in Redmond, Wash., since 2012 and previously held management positions located in Washington, D.C., and San Diego, Calif., with technology companies that served the aerospace and homeland security industries.

In his new role, Shaw will continue to be the Secretary-Rules Editor for the NCAA Football Rules Committee.

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