Saoa Information

The Southwestern Athletic Officials Association (SAOA) has been in existence for over 40 years. The exact date the association formed is not known, but our files have records of rosters and minutes from the early 1960s. Our membership consists of men and women in the southwestern Illinois area that are licensed IHSA football and basketball officials. These members officiate amateur games and contests primarily at the high school and junior high school levels. The SAOA is proud of the fact that over the years, many of it members have officiated at the IHSA State Finals in both football and basketball. In fact, some of our members have officiated IHSA State Finals in multiple sports. In addition, a large percentage of our members have advanced to officiate at the collegiate level in both sports as well. Specifically, the Southwestern Athletic Officials Association strives to do the following:Promote higher professional standards among sports officialsEncourage uniformity in mechanics and other officiating functionsConduct meetings on various aspects of officiatingTo recruit and train new officialsTo work with area schools toward a uniformity in sports officiating feesTo mentor and evaluate member officials to become better officialsTo select and submit to the IHSA a top 15 list of members for the State Tournament SeriesMembership: Any person who is a football or basketball official registered with the Illinois High School Association and in good standing is eligible for membership in the Association.