National Football Foundation

From the field to the replay booth to the rule book, Steve Shaw has spent more than three decades working to make college football better, first as one of the game's most respected officials and ultimately as a national leader in modernizing officiating and shaping the rules of the sport.
 
Shaw retired Sept. 1, 2026, as the College Football Officiating (CFO) National Coordinator of Football Officials and secretary-rules editor of the NCAA Football Rules Committee. He had served as secretary-rules editor since 2017 and national coordinator since 2020, playing a critical role in developing competition rules and policies while promoting consistency in officiating across the country.
 
Shaw has also been a longtime friend and collaborator of the National Football Foundation. Under his leadership, the annual winter meeting of Division I conference coordinators for football officials has taken place each January at NFF headquarters in Irving, Texas. The NFF and CFO also collaborate annually to publicize college football's rule changes and educate the media, players, coaches and fans about their impact on the game.
 
"Steve has devoted his life to making college football better, and officiating is such a critical part of our game," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "He was a great official on the field, and then he took that experience and became a tremendous leader nationally. Steve understands the game, and he has always been willing to work with us to help people understand the rules. We are incredibly grateful for his friendship and everything he has done for college football."
 
Before assuming his national roles, Shaw served as the SEC coordinator of football officials beginning in 2011 and added the Sun Belt Conference in 2014, leading a joint program between the two conferences.
 
Shaw's officiating career began at the high school level, where he worked 14 seasons with the Birmingham Football Officials Association before moving into the collegiate ranks with the Gulf South Conference. He spent six seasons at the Division II level before beginning a 15-year run as an SEC referee. Widely regarded as one of the nation's top officials, Shaw earned 14 postseason assignments, including two BCS National Championship Games, three Rose Bowls, two Fiesta Bowls, an Orange Bowl and four SEC Championship Games.
 
As a national leader, Shaw helped modernize officiating mechanics and championed the use of technology to improve the game. He chaired the Collegiate Commissioners Association National Mechanics Committee, leading the rewrite of its mechanics manual and the introduction of mechanics for eight-person crews. He also helped pioneer wireless official-to-official communications and expanded the use of video to evaluate and develop officials.
 
A Tuscaloosa native and University of Alabama graduate, Shaw was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2020. Following his retirement from his national officiating roles, he joined ESPN as a college football rules analyst.