The Big 12 will make conference history during the 2014 college football season.
The league announced Monday at its Media Day session that Catherine “Cat” Conti will be on the referee crew for Kansas’ season opener against Southeast Missouri State on Sept. 6, making her the first female referee to work a Big 12 game.
Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby noted that officiating supervisor Walt Anderson gave Conti the opportunity “because she is just a darned good official.”
While Kansas head coach Charlie Weis remarked that the league’s move is a positive one, he apparently thinks that Conti’s presence will have an influence on how he behaves on the sidelines.
“I believe in the old-fashioned way, so I’ll try not to use as many bad words,” Weis said. “But it means nothing to me. It’s great that a woman is put in a position where she can be put on equal footing with the men.”
The Jayhawks have won just four games in two years and are 1-17 in the conference since Weis took over in 2012, so the former New England Patriots offensive coordinator should have bigger issues to worry about than keeping his mouth clean on the sidelines.
Check out the video below for more on Conti and Weis’ comments, starting at the 1:40 mark.
Video courtesy of Oklahoma City’s KFOR.com
