Friday, July 12, 2019

PORTLAND, Ore. – Eric Crone, an official with nearly two decades of experience at all levels of the game, has been hired as the commissioner of the Northwest Intercollegiate Football Officiating Association (NIFOA).

As commissioner of the NIFOA, Crone will serve as the supervisor of football officials for both the GNAC and the NCAA Division III Northwest Conference (NWC). Crone replaces longtime NIFOA commissioner Mike Burton, who resigned in June to become the NCAA Division II football national director of officials.

“I’m excited to be given the opportunity to become the NIFOA commissioner and work with some of the finest officials on the West Coast,” Crone said. “Mike built one of the most respected officiating groups in the country. It is an honor take over such a revered program.”

In his role as NIFOA commissioner, Crone will be charged with the scheduling and assignment of game officials for both the GNAC and NWC as well as the recruitment, education, development and retention of officials.

Crone’s officiating resume includes 20 years at the high school level in the state of Washington. He worked 13 years as a college official, working both GNAC and NWC games, and was a Big Sky Conference official from 2010 to 2015. In addition, Crone spent three seasons working arena football for both the Arena Football League and AF-2 league.

Crone worked as the head linesman for the 2009 Stagg Bowl, the NCAA Division III Football Championship. He has worked multiple Washington high school and NAIA playoff games and was a part of the officiating crew for both the 2008 NCAA Division II national quarterfinals and 2012 NCAA Division I-FCS national quarterfinals.

Since retiring from on-field officiating in 2016, Crone has worked as a game-day observer and film reviewer for both the GNAC and NWC as well the Division II Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. For the last two years, Crone has also worked as a scout and game day evaluator for the National Football League.

Burton, Crone’s predecessor, was NIFOA commissioner from 2005 to 2019. During that time, Burton saw 61 of his officials advance to work in Division I conferences and saw 67 crews selected for playoff games at the NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA levels.