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2023 XFL season

Officiating crews for the 2023 XFL season

The XFL has 42 officials from the FBS conferences on 6 crews.

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The XFL returns to the field in 2023 with 8 teams and a 10-game regular season schedule. The XFL uses the NFL’s 7-person mechanics and has 42 officials from the Football Bowl Subdivision conferences on six crews.

Dean Blandino is the vice president of officiating and playing rules innovation. Marvel July, a Big 12 center judge, is the officiating supervisor and coordinator. Additional supervisors include Gary Arthur, Jeff Bergman, John O’Neill, Dino Paganelli, and Larry Upson. Bergman and Paganelli worked Super Bowl LVII one week prior to the XFL opener, the final NFL game for Bergman’s career.

Many of the officials have been scouted by the NFL under its Mackie Development Program, but the league had no formal role in the XFL staffing process. The XFL officiating staff includes six women, one on each of the crews.

Officials are listed by their position with their current college conference. Assignments for last season’s bowl games, all-star games, and conference championships are listed. The number of seasons in the Mackie Development Program, and in a spring pro league are indicated, which includes the 2019 AAF, the 2020 XFL (plus this season), and the 2022-23 USFL seasons. There are 6 officials working both spring leagues this year, which each count as 2 seasons in their totals.

Football Zebras has learned that the XFL officiating jerseys do not have numbers or position placards.

    MDP Yrs Spring League Yrs Conference 2022 Bowls
R Jason Autrey   1 SEC FIESTA
U William Thomas 8 2 ACC SENIOR
DJ Andy Warner 1 2 Big 12 ROSE BIG 12 CHAMP SENIOR
LJ Cat Conti 2 1 Big 12 GASPARILLA
FJ Eric Hartman   3 American Athletic AMERICAN ATH CHAMP
SJ Sean Petty 2 1 SEC FIESTA SHRINE
BJ Justin Staehr   1 Big Ten HOLIDAY
    MDP Yrs Spring League Yrs Conference 2022 Bowls
R Chris Coyte   1 Pac-12 PEACH PAC-12 CHAMP
U Jim Wharrie   3 Pac-12 LIBERTY PAC-12 CHAMP
DJ Nick Theriot   1 SEC FIESTA
LJ Monique Washington   1 MAC CELEBRATION SWAC CHAMP HULA
FJ Jose Martinez   1 Big 12  
SJ Wes Booker 5 2 SEC LEGACY
BJ Justin Nelson 7 3 Pac-12 FENWAY
    MDP Yrs Spring League Yrs Conference 2022 Bowls
R Jeff Heaser 2 3 ACC CFP CHAMP
U Amanda Sauer 2 5 Big Ten FENWAY HULA
DJ Cravonne Barrett 4 4 Pac-12 MUSIC CITY PAC-12 CHAMP
LJ Steven Matarante   2 ACC ACC CHAMP
FJ Kendall Smith   1 MAC  
SJ Gabriel DeLeon 3 1 Big 12 CITRUS BIG 12 CHAMP
BJ Peter Buchanan   1 ACC  
    MDP Yrs Spring League Yrs Conference 2022 Bowls
R Reggie Smith 2 3 Big Ten ARMED FORCES
U Dan Scanlan 2 1 Big 12 GASPARILLA
DJ Marcus Allen   1 Big Ten GATOR
LJ Jay Bilbo 1 1 Big 12 GASPARILLA NFLPA
FJ LaShell Nelson 7 3 Big Ten MUSIC CITY
SJ Ryan Flynn   1 ACC ACC CHAMP
BJ Brett Toney   1 SEC CHEEZIT
    MDP Yrs Spring League Yrs Conference 2022 Bowls
R Michael Vandervelde   1 Big 12 ROSE
U Krystle Apellaniz 1 1 Mountain West HULA
DJ Rod Ammari   3 Pac-12 MUSIC CITY
LJ Darren Deckard   1 Big 12 PINSTRIPE BIG 12 CHAMP
FJ Conor Clougherty 3 1 ACC  
SJ Raymond Tate   1 SEC COTTON
BJ David Ross   3 Pac-12 DUKE’S MAYO
    MDP Yrs Spring League Yrs Conference 2022 Bowls
R Francisco Villar 3 4 Pac-12 FIRST RESPONDERS
U Chris Snead 5 3 SEC CHEEZIT
DJ Dale Keller 3 4 Pac-12 PEACH NFLPA
LJ Kole Knuepell   1 Big Ten SUGAR
FJ Karina Tovar 2 1 ACC HULA
SJ Milton Britton 1 1 ACC ARMY-NAVY
BJ Fred Dimpfel   1 ACC HAWAII

In-city staff

The XFL has assigned replay officials and ball spotters (there is no center judge position) to each of the eight cities.

  Replay official Ball spotter
Arlington, Texas Chad Wakefield Crystal Cooksey
Houston Yvette Matchette Jason Laborde
Orlando Andrew McGrath Joey Calcagino
Las Vegas Brian Brown Eddie Garcia
San Antonio Brian Jones Austin Wright
Seattle Steve Kovac Charles Giles
St. Louis Eric Oliver Austin Hills
Washington, DC Russell Giglio Michael Kennedy

Ben Austro is the editor and founder of Football Zebras and the author of So You Think You Know Football?: The Armchair Ref's Guide to the Official Rules (on sale now)

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