SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Perry Havener has been named the Southern Conference’s coordinator of football officials, Commissioner Jim Schaus announced Thursday. Havener brings more than 40 years of officiating experience to the role as the SoCon begins its partnership with the Southeastern Conference and Sun Belt Conference in an officiating consortium in 2020.
 
“I am elated to be able to work in partnership with the SEC in the selection of Perry Havener as the new football officiating coordinator for the Southern Conference,” Schaus said. “Perry brings a wealth of experience as a successful former college football official, supervisor and assigner at a variety of levels. He is very familiar our conference and once served as a SoCon official. Perry is well-respected in the industry and will have instant credibility in his role. I am very impressed with his vision and new ideas he has for SoCon officiating in working as a part of our new partnership with the SEC football officiating consortium.”
 
Havener, who will serve in the dual-role of SEC Assistant Coordinator of Football Officials under SEC Coordinator of Football Officials John McDaid, will be involved in all areas of SoCon football officiating. Havener will determine which officials will participate during the season, make game assignments, coordinate officials’ training and education throughout the year and monitor and evaluate officials.
 
“The start of the SEC/SoCon officiating relationship has been greatly enhanced with the addition of Perry Havener,” McDaid said. “Perry’s past positions as an on-field official, replay official and coordinator, including as a Southern Conference on-field official, gives him a full complement of experiences to successfully guide the SoCon football officiating program into this new and exciting partnership. Perry will lead the incorporation of the SEC Training, Development and Evaluation blueprint into every facet of SoCon football officiating. I look forward to working side-by-side with Perry as we get prepared for the 2020 season and as we welcome the SoCon football officials into our program.”
 
The veteran referee has worked at the NAIA and NCAA FCS and FBS levels collegiately as well as in the professional ranks in the Arena Football League (2000-13) and United Football League (2012-13).
 
Most recently, Havener has served as a replay official for the FBS Sun Belt from 2017 to present after spending the seven prior seasons as a referee in the league. From 2009-10, he was an official in the SoCon after officiating in the FBS Mid-American Conference from 2004-08.
 
Havener founded the Gulf Atlantic Collegiate Officials Association in 1996, identifying, training, assigning and evaluating officials for the organization until 2017. In that role, he supervised and assigned officials for Jacksonville and Stetson of the FCS Pioneer League and six schools in the NAIA Sun Conference, helping develop over 100 officials who moved on to NCAA Division I and the NFL.
 
Havener began his career officiating at the high school level, doing so from 1978-2001.