Pac-12 Officiating Coordinator Tony Corrente Resigns

The Pac-12 announced Wednesday night that Coordinator of Football Officiating Tony Corrente resigned. The official explanation is "personal and professional reasons," and San Jose Mercury News reporter Jon Wilner's source told him that Corrente was not forced out, and that the resignation caught the Pac-12 by surprise.

Corrente's resignation comes five days after Pac-12 officials called a ludicrous taunting penalty on then second-ranked Oregon, contributing to their defeat against Arizona. If you believe in karma however, Oregon's screw-job was payback for an earlier blown call by Pac-12 officials, this one benefitting the Ducks. Up 38–31 against Washington State three weeks ago, Oregon committed a blatant pass interference on 3rd and 13 late in the fourth quarter that killed the Cougars's shot at an upset, but it went uncalled.

There have been many controversial decisions by Pac-12 officials in the past year that it's impossible to remember them all. Just this weekend the ending of the Cal–Washington State game was shrouded in controversy when the referees didn't call a late game touchdown where the ball seemed to break the plane of the goal line, and refused to even review the play. Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre also chased the referees off the field at the end of his game, irate over a pass interference call that annulled a Buffaloes interception.

Instant Replay Supervisor Jim Blackwood takes over for Corrente. Let's hope he can figure out a solution to the conference's uneven refereeing.

Photo via Ezra Shaw/Getty