NEW YORK — Eight Division I conferences announced on Monday the formation of a women's basketball officiating alliance designed to improve the quality, consistency and development of officiating across the sport through a collaborative system of assigning, training, evaluation and oversight.
The alliance brings together the Big East, Atlantic Coast Conference, American Conference, Atlantic 10 Conference, Big South Conference, Coastal Athletic Association, Ivy League and Metro Conference — eight leagues representing a significant portion of top-tier women's college basketball programs across the United States.
Leading the initiative is Pualani Spurlock-Welsh, who has been appointed Supervisor of Officials for the alliance. Spurlock-Welsh, who has served as a full-time Division I official across multiple conferences since 2011, will work alongside supervisors from each participating conference to develop officiating assignments that maximise geographic efficiency.
"The BIG EAST is proud to play a key role in strengthening women's college basketball officiating as part of our commitment to providing the best possible experience for our student-athletes," said Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman. "This alliance represents an important opportunity to collaborate in identifying, developing and supporting officials while sharing resources and expertise across the participating conferences."
The alliance will focus on four core areas: identifying, recruiting and retaining officials; enhancing training, education, mentorship, evaluation and feedback; developing collaborative assigning strategies that maximise geographic efficiency; and conducting seasonal game management calls with updates on alliance operations.
Spurlock-Welsh brings considerable experience to the role. She has officiated more than 75 Division I women's basketball games per year since 2011, worked every NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament since that year, and was selected for four Final Fours. She has also officiated in the WNBA, the NBA G League and international competitions.
The alliance replaces a previous informal officiating group led by Deb Williamson, who has retired. The new structure formalises collaboration between conferences that had previously operated largely independently on officiating matters.
Sources
- https://apnews.com/article/big-east-officiating-alliance-a91203ede266d3812f6547029532ae33
- https://www.bigeast.com/news/2026/7/20/womens-basketball-officiating-alliance.aspx
