SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Summit League announced a partnership with Officially Human Thursday, which is an organization whose mission is to positively impact the way officials are treated and shown respect as authorities on and off the field.
Officially Human was founded by Brenda Hilton, who has spent over 20 years in college athletics working with sports officials from the mid-majors to the highest level of Division I.
“We are excited to work with Brenda and her organization that supports such an important issue,” Commissioner Josh Fenton said. “This group does a tremendous job of bringing positive attention to a serious problem across the sports landscape and we want to do our part to help those efforts.” The Lombard, Illinois-based organization was founded in 2019 and emphasizes its mission through increased education and communication to all stakeholders (administrators, coaches, athletes, and fans). Officially Human is the leader in addressing the growing crisis in officiating that touches every sport, official, and level of competition.
“I am proud to begin a partnership between Officially Human and The Summit League,” Hilton said. “It’s the organization where I started my career in college athletics, and I know Commissioner Fenton and the staff will embrace our mission by using their events to raise awareness of the treatment of officials. I am excited to work together to recognize the important role officials will continue to play in the future of sports.”
Summit League schools will play a specialized PSA at selected home events, which promotes respect and decorum for game officials. Additionally, the league office will collaborate with Officially Human at its future conference championships, which will begin with the upcoming Volleyball Championship in Vermillion, S.D., Nov. 19-21.
ABOUT OFFICIALLY HUMAN: Based in Lombard, Ill., Officially Human was founded to restore respect to, and positive treatment of, sport officials through increased education and communication to all stakeholders (administrators, coaches, athletes, and fans.) Founded in 2019, Officially Human is the leader in addressing the growing crisis in officiating that touches every sport, official, and level of competition. Officially Human offers tailored solutions to athletic host organizations of all sizes that improve the stakeholder experience at each of their sporting competitions. The comprehensive solutions package includes digital education, awareness building, event host communication strategies, and organizational support in addressing poor fan behavior. To learn more about Officially Human, visit OfficiallyHuman.com.
ABOUT THE SUMMIT LEAGUE: Headquartered in Sioux Falls, S.D., The Summit League is embarking on its 42nd year at the NCAA
Division I level and offers 19 championship sports. The League’s nine institutions have a combined enrollment of nearly 100,000 and include five located in top 60 U.S. metropolitan populations and two land-grant universities. Full-time member institutions are the University of Denver, University of Missouri-Kansas City, University of North Dakota, North Dakota State University, University of Nebraska Omaha, Oral Roberts University, University of St. Thomas, University of South Dakota, and South Dakota State University.
