Many would think the transition from athlete to official would be an easy one. Having played the game for so long, enforcing the rules should be a breeze.
But, according to Marcia Cotton, that is far from the truth.
“Absolutely not,” Cotton said. “… I understood the game because it was something I loved, but as far as transitioning, there’s a lot of work that goes into officiating that I wish a lot of people could appreciate.”
Cotton, originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, grew up playing basketball and loved the game. Her basketball skills got her noticed and helped her continue her career at the next level, where she played at the Mississippi University for Women from 1993-95.
Adjusting to life in Columbus was something new for her, something unique, but also something she very much enjoyed.
It was at MUW where she cultivated a lot of relationships that have existed through to this day.
“It was a great experience and it was definitely worth it,” Cotton said. “I met some of my best friends there.”
Her playing career ended upon graduation, but Cotton wanted to continue her involvement in athletics. The game had given her so much that she wanted to give back, and what better way to do that than through officiating.
First, it was basketball, refereeing youth games and games of family and close friends before getting more serious about working her way up the ladder.
Then, football came along as a way to fill in the gaps of time outside of the basketball season.
“I started officiating football and fell in love with it just as much as I loved basketball,” Cotton said. “… The football officials in Baton Rouge, they knew me from basketball, so they were like ‘Hey, why don’t you come out for some preseason games? You can be on the clock.’ After my first week of being on the clock and doing JV games, they wanted me on the field.”
Cotton’s rise in the Louisiana High School Athletics Association was a rapid one, becoming the first black female football referee in LHSAA history and then the first female official to lead a football officiating crew in LHSAA history in November 2021.
Through nearly two years of continuous refereeing at both the high school and college level, the time came in late September to assemble an all-female officiating crew for a high school football game.
“When I started in the LHSAA, there was one other woman, and she was more administrative,” Cotton said. “The next year, I brought in two more and then it would dwindle and come back. This year, we had about five female officials that were interested, so my regional coordinator of officials looked around the room and said, ‘I think we can have an all-female crew.’”
Louis Metevia, the regional coordinator from the Baton Rouge Area Football Officials Association, plus several other officials, pushed for the idea, and soon enough, it became a reality.
Cotton, the only LHSAA-certified female official, plus six other Baton Rouge area officials and two from New Orleans, came together to officiate a Thursday-night contest between Glen Oaks and Parkview Baptist.
“What a tremendous honor for Marcia and her crew,” MUW assistant athletics director Buddy Foster said. “And we are so blessed that – as she was a part of such a historic event – she carried the Mississippi University for Women name with her.”
Louisiana, like much of the country, faces a shortage of officials, so high school games are played on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, making Cotton’s game one of a select few happening on Sept. 28.
It seemed all eyes were on Cotton and her crew that night.
“It was a lot more than everyone anticipated,” Cotton said. “… On Thursday morning, a fellow official called me and he said he walked into a school and the kids were saying they heard about the game tonight. He said the kids were motivated just from that. Of all the things that have been said, to know there were young kids excited about this, that touched me more.”
Years of hard work have led Cotton to this point, and that night paved the way for what many women in Louisiana and across the country hope to do.
All cultural shifts need trailblazers, and Cotton is a shining example of a trailblazer in the field of officiating.
“Marcia is a testament to the fact that hard work and dedication to your chosen vocation pays off, regardless of who you are,” Foster said. “She and her crewmates are obviously quality and professional officials, first and foremost.”
Her years of playing experience, coupled with years of officiating prowess, made her the perfect person to make history, but she’s far from done in that respect. There is plenty of football and basketball left to officiate.
“There’s a certain love and respect for the game you develop,” Cotton said. “When you put everything that you have into it, using that as motivation, it’s so easy because it’s what you want to do. I want to wake up and know more, know more, know more. Waking up with that type of attitude every day, it’s that self-motivation that keeps you going.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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