About Us
The Stars & Stripes Academy was created in 2012.What makes us different?
Officials are assigned to crews three months in advance of the actual Academy. Each crew has a Mentor who is an active, FBS level official. Crews engage in Zoom calls, rules study, video review and all the preparations normally associated with an actual crew working Division I football.
The officials work actual regular season games in the Semi-pro Northwest Rocky Mountain Football League with many former D-1 college football players. These are real snaps with real coaches and real players vying for league superiority and prize money. Students get the opportunity to be trained not only in mechanics and judgment, but game management including coin toss, clock management, penalty administration, measurements, dealing with coaches and everything else that happens in a real football game.
Feedback is 100% college focused, 100% immediate, and 100% HONEST. Positive feedback is given, but the focus is on getting better and SASA instructors don’t hold anything back when it comes to constructive feedback. The instructional staff consists of 100% current college officials working at the Division I level and are not just good officials but good instructors. All have an immeasurable passion for teaching, mentoring, and leading.
Competition is fierce with each crew competing for the honor of being the #1 crew and each official trying to be #1 at their position. A proctored rules test is administered which factors into the overall crew evaluation and individual position evaluations. You will leave this Academy with life-long friends and associations for years to come through your officiating career.
2019 - Our best Academy Yet
These factors combine to create an unparalleled simulation of big time football. Both on-field and non-field students are fully immersed in the D-1 experience, with all students getting maximum training and feedback.
The 2019 SASA will be an improvement over the first seven years. We have learned from past mistakes and believe the 2019 SASA will be the best Academy yet. We look forward to seeing you there!
We actually CARE
We do not prey upon the hopes & dreams of aspiring officials for profit. SASA was created to help officials get maximum return on their time & investment into officiating by helping officials realize their potential AND their limitations. We emphasize TRAINING and honest feedback. SASA is expensive, but that’s because we invest heavily in our staff, quality football games, cutting edge technology and video capabilities to provide a product that is unmatched anywhere.