Executive Staff

Mike Defee worked 5 years in the Southland Conference and 14 years in the Big 12 retiring from the field after the 2019 season. He worked 5 Big 12 Championship Games. He worked numerous Bowl games including the Rose, Cotton, Fiesta, Sugar, Capital One and Outback. He worked the CFP Semi-Final in 2015 and was the Referee in the 2017 CFP National Championship Game. He works as a Coach/Trainer for the NFL’s Officiating Department and is Coordinator of Football Officials for Conference USA and Mountain West Conference.

Michael Cooper is a retired 19 year Division 1 College Umpire with SWAC,CUSA and Big 12. He worked the 2005 SWAC Championship, 2008 (Alternate) & 2010 Big 12 Championship and 13 straight bowl games including the 2009 Sugar Bowl, 2012 BCS National Championship, 2015 CFP Simi Final Cotton Bowl and the 2018 Peach Bowl. Michael is currently working as Observer for Conference USA and Mountain West Conference.

I live in Beaumont Texas with my wife of 51 years. We have a son, Chris Ford, and a grandson, Layne Ford. I started officiating Texas High School Football in 1989, where I worked numerous Quarter Finals, Semi-Finals and ended my high school career with a Texas High School State Championship game in Dallas at Old Texas Stadium in 2004. I got hired in the SWAC Football Conference in 2003 and worked for supervisor George Coleman until 2006 when I was asked by Jim Harvey to come over to Southland Conference and I started working there in 2006. In 2014 I was asked by Byron Boston to come and help start a Replay Program in the Southland so I went in as a Replay Communicator in the Southland Conference. In 2015 I was moved to Replay Official for Southland and worked there until 2017, where I was moved to a communicator in the Big 12 where I worked until 2019. In 2019 I was advanced to the Mountain West as Replay Official where I worked for Greg Burks until he promoted me in 2021 to Replay Official for the Big 12 where I still work today. I have earned a Bowl game every year I have been a Replay Official, 2018 Redbox Bowl, 2020 Frisco Bowl, 2021 New Orleans Bowl, 2022 MWC Championship, and 2022 Cheese-it Bowl. In 2020 I was hired as Supervisor of Replay for Conference USA by Coordinator of Officials, Mike Defee and still holds that position today. Ronnie is currently the Supervisor of Replay in Conference USA and Mountain West Conference under the direction of the Coordinator of Officials, Mike Defee.