For Pat Driscoll, there’s more madness to March than college basketball.

As an NCAA basketball official, operations director of the Syracuse chapter of Say Yes to Education and father of three, life for Pat Driscoll can be very hectic this time of year. At the end of the week, Driscoll could be officiating a tournament game, which would round out his four months of NCAA refereeing.

Driscoll started officiating basketball while he was a student at St. Bonaventure University in the late 1980s. While in school, Driscoll served as a manager of the men’s basketball team and officiated high school and intramural college games. That’s when he became interested in refereeing as a career.

“My dad was a high school basketball official,” Driscoll said. “That’s where I really started getting the bug for it, and then having played basketball myself, it just stuck with me.”

And for the past 17 years, Driscoll has been an NCAA official.

After graduating from St. Bonaventure in 1989, Driscoll furthered his interest in sports by getting involved in local government. For a time, Driscoll worked as parks and recreation commissioner for the city of Syracuse. In 2011, he began working for the Syracuse chapter of Say Yes to Education.

As director of operations for Say Yes, Driscoll said he is responsible for working with his colleagues “to identify resources to support young people in the Syracuse city school district.” Say Yes sets up programs to increase high school graduation and college enrollment in Syracuse. It provides services at all grade levels, including scholarships for students headed to college.

It is the ability to work with these Say Yes scholars that Driscoll said is one of the highlights of his job.

Ahmeed Turner, Say Yes’ scholarships director, said Driscoll is a fair and accessible employer.

“Pat is a pleasure to work with, probably the best boss I’ve ever had,” said Turner, adding that Driscoll brings a “cool, level head” to Say Yes.

His careers in public education and as a NCAA referee often complement each other, Driscoll said, and both require a calm, unbiased attitude.

“We all know how sport goes and how competition goes,” Driscoll said. “People get very excited around that, so there has to be a party involved that can remain calm and balanced.”

One of the highlights of Driscoll’s early career was officiating a 2002 game between Georgetown and Notre Dame, which ended with a Georgetown victory in quadruple overtime, he said.

But Driscoll’s services have not been limited to the Big East. He said he has been fortunate to oversee his first Duke University–University of North Carolina game this season, as well as working with some of the iconic Big Ten rivalries, such as one between the University of Michigan and Ohio State University. Throughout his career, Driscoll has officiated three Final Four games in the NCAA Tournament. Driscoll said he is currently awaiting game assignments for this year’s tournament.

For Driscoll, being called on by different conferences is similar to working with different stakeholders in public education.

“It’s much like work, you’ve got to balance the different conferences that would like you to work for them,” he said.

On top of officiating NCAA games, Driscoll has been invited to teach others to officiate and improve referees’ skills. Working at the Big East Officiating Camp, Move to Improve Officiating Camp and other officiating clinics, Driscoll said he teaches proper signaling and review rules to other officials.

Out of all his roles as an official, Driscoll says it is the people involved with the sport that he enjoys.

“The opportunity to act with the student athletes, coaches and fellow officials is really what gets me most excited,” Driscoll said.

Once basketball season begins in December, Driscoll said he faces some difficulty balancing his careers and family. While on the road for games, Driscoll said technology has helped him keep in touch with those at Say Yes. He added that he has had to attend meetings at other regional Say Yes offices in New York City and Hartford, Connecticut while traveling.

Driscoll said his family has been supportive of him, which has made a difference. On multiple occasions, his family has traveled to watch him.

“Watching my dad officiate is a great experience,” said Patrick Driscoll, his son, in an email. The younger Driscoll said that while his father travels frequently, this hasn’t negatively affected their relationship.

Pat Driscoll said his son recently joined him for the Big East tournament in New York City last week. Driscoll said he started working with the Big East in 1999 and it has been his primary conference ever since.

While his multiple jobs and family keep Driscoll on his toes, he feels that he is able to effectively balance everything. In the end, Driscoll said it is his family’s encouragement that allows him to keep everything in check.

Said Driscoll: “Being able to have their support really makes a big difference.”

Published on March 19, 2014 at 1:03 am

Contact Zach: zdschwei@syr.edu