NFF Outstanding Football Official Award Recipients
Biography
Shouldering a level of pressure on the football field felt by few people, Tim Millis's integrity and intense sense of objectivity as a referee has set the standard for controlling a game and ensuring the highest level of sportsmanship at all levels of play.
Following 13 years as a junior high and high school referee in Florida, Mississippi and Texas, Millis began officiating for the Southwest Conference in 1984. During his nine years at the collegiate level his reputation earned him post-season assignments that included the Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, All-American Bowl and the Coca-Cola Bowl in Tokyo, Japan. While continuing as a collegiate official, he added NFL games to his work schedule in 1989, embarking on a 13-year NFL career as a field judge. Again his reputation would earn him assignments to top games, including appearances in two Super Bowls (XXIX and XXXIII) and three conference championships before his retirement in 2001.
From 1996-2006, he served as the director of football officials for the Big 12 Conference, helping introduce instant replay to the college game. In March of 2006, Millis became the executive director of the NFL Referee Association, becoming only the fourth person to head the union in the 25-year history of the organization, and today he travels the country representing his fellow officials.
Millis, who graduated in 1967 from Millsaps College (Miss.) with an accounting degree, twice lettered at linebacker and fullback, claiming the 1965 H.T. Newell Most Valuable Player award and the 1966 Outstanding College Player of the Year (Mississippi) award in 1966. In 1985, the school inducted him into its athletics hall of fame. An accounting major in college, he worked for 17 years with the Internal Revenue Service before becoming a self-employed financial investigative consultant for 22 years.
He currently lives in Wylie, Texas and serves on the board of directors for the NFF's Gridiron Club of Dallas. He and his wife Dianne have four children and eight grandchildren.
