Bill Vinovich | |
|---|---|
 Vinovich looking at instant replay during the 2021 season | |
| Born | December 1, 1960 [1] |
| Alma mater | Canyon High School University of San Diego [2] |
| Occupation(s) | NFL official (2001–2006, 2012–present), college basketball official |
| Children | 2 [2] |
Bill Vinovich III (born December 1, 1960) is an American professional football official in the National Football League (NFL) who has worked as an NFL referee from 2001 to 2006 and since 2012; he is also a college basketball official.
Vinovich was born in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. His family moved to California, where he played football for Canyon High School in Anaheim [3] and through his four years of college, transitioning to officiating upon his magna cum laude graduation in 1983 from the University of San Diego with a bachelor's degree in business administration with an emphasis in accounting. [2] His paternal grandfather and father were also sports officials. [2]
Vinovich began officiating football at the high school and small-college level; he then officiated in the Canadian Football League and Arena Football League, followed by the Mountain West Conference of NCAA Division I. [2]
Vinovich began his career in the NFL as a side judge on the officiating crew headed by referees Dick Hantak (2001) and Ed Hochuli (2002–2003) [4] before being promoted to referee for the start of the 2004 NFL season after former referee Ron Blum returned to his original position of line judge. In the NFL, he wears uniform number 52.
As a college basketball official, Vinovich officiated a first round contest between Virginia Tech and Illinois in the 2007 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament on March 16, 2007.
Due to a heart condition, Bill Vinovich retired from field duty as an NFL official prior to the 2007 season, to serve as the replay official for Ed Hochuli. He was replaced as a referee by former side judge John Parry.
In 2012, doctors gave Vinovich a clean bill of health, and he returned for the 2012 NFL season as a substitute official, working several games during the season. His first game back since 2006 was on October 14, 2012, heading Scott Green's crew in Philadelphia. [5]
Vinovich was the referee of Super Bowl XLIX, played on February 1, 2015, at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. [6] Before that, he was the alternate referee of Super Bowl XLVII, which was played in New Orleans on February 3, 2013. In addition, Vinovich has officiated nine other post-season games (listed here by NFL season): three conference championship games (2002 AFC, 2015 NFC, and 2018 NFC), four divisional playoff games (2003 NFC, 2012 AFC, 2014 AFC, and 2017 NFC), and two wild card playoff games (2006 AFC and 2013 NFC). [7] [8]
Vinovich was the referee for the 2018 NFC Championship Game, in which the lack of a penalty called on a controversial play late in the fourth quarter became the most discussed part of the game. [9] [10] Because of the alleged no-call, which may have denied the New Orleans Saints a trip to the Super Bowl, a petition was filed to fire Vinovich and his officiating crew. [11] The petition collected nearly 150,000 signatures, but no action was taken by the NFL. [12]
On January 15, 2020, Vinovich was announced as the referee for Super Bowl LIV, which took place on February 2, 2020. [13]
In a 2022 Week 15 game between the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills, in Buffalo, the Bills fans in attendance threw snowballs onto the field, aiming for Dolphins players and staff. Vinovich stopped play and announced that "We've just been informed that if a snowball hits someone, it'll be a 15-yard penalty against Buffalo." However, no such penalty or rule exists, and Vinovich had simply made it up on the spot. [14]
On January 25, 2022, the NFL named him as the alternate referee for Super Bowl LVI. He and his officiating crew joined the main officiating crew headed by main referee Ronald Torbert.
In January 2024, Vinovich was named as the referee for Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas, which took place between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers on February 11, 2024. [15] The game was a rematch of Super Bowl LIV, making Vinovich the first referee to preside over two Super Bowl meetings between the same teams. [16]
Source: [17]
Outside of his officiating career, Vinovich works as a certified public accountant. [18]
Below is a list of professional football Championship Games in the United States, involving:
The 1976 NFL season was the 57th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 28 teams with the addition of Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This fulfilled one of the conditions agreed to in 1966 for the 1970 AFL–NFL merger, which called for the league to expand to 28 teams by 1970 or soon thereafter.
The 1975 NFL season was the 56th regular season of the National Football League.
Edward G. Hochuli is an American retired attorney and former American football official. He served as an attorney at Jones, Skelton & Hochuli, P.L.C. from 1983 to 2021, and was an official in the National Football League (NFL) from 1990 to 2017; his uniform number was 85. Before becoming a football official, he played college football for four seasons at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP).
Pete Morelli is a retired American football official who worked in the National Football League (NFL) from 1997 to 2018. He wore uniform number 135.
Walt Coleman III is a former American football official who officiated in the National Football League (NFL) from the 1989 season until the end of the 2018 season. He wore uniform number 65. During his final season in 2018, Coleman was the NFL's longest current tenured referee.
Jim Tunney is a former American football official in the National Football League (NFL) from 1960 to 1990. In his 31 years as an NFL official, Tunney received a record 29 post-season assignments, including ten Championship games and Super Bowls VI, XI and XII and named as an alternate in Super Bowl XVIII. He remains the only referee who has worked consecutive Super Bowls and likely will be the only one to do so.
Anthony Joseph Corrente is a former American football official in the National Football League (NFL) who served for 26 years from 1995 until his retirement in 2021. He wore uniform number 99. He was the referee of Super Bowl XLI. He served as the Coordinator of Football Officiating for the Pac-12 Conference from June 2011 until he resigned this position in October 2014.
Bill Leavy was an American football official who officiated in the National Football League (NFL) from the 1995 through 2014 seasons, wore uniform number 127, and was also a retired San Jose, California police officer and firefighter, serving for 27 years. In his twenty-year NFL officiating career, Leavy was assigned to fifteen playoff games, including two Super Bowls. He was selected as a back judge on the Super Bowl XXXIV officiating crew in 2000 and most recently headed up the Super Bowl XL officiating crew as referee in 2006.
William F. Carollo is a former American football official who officiated National Football League (NFL) games from 1989 through 2008. He wore uniform number 63. Carollo officiated in two Super Bowls and eight conference championship games. After the 2008 season, he became the Coordinator of Football Officials for the Big Ten Conference and is currently Coordinator of Officials for the Collegiate Officiating Consortium (COC).
Terry McAulay is a former American football official who worked in the National Football League (NFL) for the 1998 through 2017 seasons. He was the referee for seven conference championship games and three Super Bowls. He was the Coordinator of Football Officials for college football's Big East and subsequently the American Athletic Conference from 2008 to 2017.
Walter John Anderson is a former American football official in the National Football League (NFL) from the 1996 NFL season to the 2019 NFL season. He wore uniform number 66. Anderson spent his first seven seasons in the NFL as a line judge before being promoted to referee for the start of the 2003 NFL season after Dick Hantak and Bob McElwee announced their retirements. He is notable for officiating Super Bowl XXXV. Anderson was also named as referee for Super Bowl XLV which was played on February 6, 2011, in Arlington, Texas, at Cowboys Stadium.
Eugene Joseph Steratore is a former American football official in the National Football League (NFL) from 2003 until his retirement from the NFL in June 2018. He also worked as a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball referee from 1997 to 2018. Since the fall of 2018, Steratore has served as a rules analyst for CBS Sports, including the NFL, college football, college basketball, and March Madness.
John W. Parry is an American former football official who worked in the National Football League (NFL) from 2000 through the 2018 season. He wore uniform number 132 and was the referee for two Super Bowls. From 2019 through the 2023 season, Parry was the rules analyst for NFL telecasts on ABC and ESPN including Monday Night Football and postseason games.
Carl Cheffers is an American professional football official who officiates games for the National Football League (NFL). He has been an NFL official since the 2000 NFL season.
Cletus W. Blakeman is an American professional football official in the National Football League (NFL). His uniform number is 34. He played college football at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Outside of his work as an NFL official, he is a partner and personal injury attorney in the law firm of Carlson Blakeman LLP in Omaha, Nebraska.
Craig Wrolstad is an American professional football official in the National Football League (NFL) since the 2003 NFL season, wearing uniform number 4.
John J. Hussey is an American professional football official in the National Football League (NFL). Hussey was hired as a Line Judge in the 2002 NFL season. Hussey was promoted to the Referee position for the start of the 2015 NFL season following the retirement of Bill Leavy. Hussey wears uniform number 35.
Dana McKenzie is an American football official in the National Football League (NFL) since the 2008 NFL season. He wears uniform number 8.
The 2018 NFC Championship Game was a National Football League (NFL) game played on January 20, 2019, to determine the National Football Conference (NFC) champion for the 2018 NFL season. The visiting Los Angeles Rams defeated the New Orleans Saints 26–23 in sudden death overtime to advance to their first Super Bowl since the 2001 season. The outcome, however, was mired in controversy because of unpenalized pass interference committed by Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman on Saints wide receiver Tommylee Lewis near the end of regulation, which would be nicknamed the "NOLA No-Call".