Former referee Terry McAulay to be honored by Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame

Former NFL referee Terry McAulay, who is currently in his third season as the officiating analyst for Sunday Night Football and Notre Dame football games on NBC, has been selected as the 2021 winner of the Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award presented by the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. The award is presented annually to an individual who has played a decisive role as a sports leader or administrator benefiting Louisiana and/or bringing credit to the state on the national or international level.

The award was created in 2005. In the summer, McAulay will become the 21st recipient of the award and will also be enshrined in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.

McAulay was hired by the NFL as a side judge in 1998, where he was given the uniform number 77, previously worn by Mike Pereira. After three seasons at the side judge position, serving on crews led by referees Walt Coleman, Jeff Triplette, and Phil Luckett, McAulay became a referee himself at the start of the 2001 season.

In his 20-year career, McAulay officiated 17 postseason games, including 1 Wild Card Playoff, 5 Divisional Playoffs, 8 Conference Championships, and Super Bowls XXXIX, XLIII, and XLVIII. All of his Super Bowl assignments were at the referee position. McAulay’s 11 top tier assignments are tied for fifth most all time; only 9 NFL officials have ever worked more combined Championship games and Super Bowls. A Hammond, La. native, McAulay moonlighted off the field as a computer programmer and software engineer for the National Security Agency.

Following the 2017 season, McAulay traded in his whistle for a headset, as he left the NFL to work as the officiating analyst for NBC. Currently in his third year in the position, McAulay continues to periodically appear in Sunday night broadcast to assist commentators Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth in explaining complex or confusing rulings.

Congratulations to Terry McAulay on this well-deserved honor.