CENTER VALLEY, Pa. - Jim Maconaghy, the Coordinator of Football Officiating for the Patriot League, Ivy League and Colonial Athletic Association, announced his retirement, effective at the end of the 2018 season.
 
“Jim Maconaghy has made a significant impact on Patriot League football, and we thank him for his professionalism and hard work throughout his distinguished career,” Patriot League Commissioner Jennifer Heppel said. “During his time with the League, Jim has been an accomplished resource for our coaches, student-athletes, officials and staff regarding rules changes and helping integrate instant replay into our League. He has been an ambassador for FCS football for many years, and will be greatly missed throughout the college football landscape for his contributions.”
 
Maconaghy became the coordinator for Patriot League and Ivy League in 2004 and also worked with the Atlantic-10 Conference for seven years before the Colonial Athletic Association became a football conference in 2007. He has more than two decades of on-field experience as a collegiate referee.
 
“I have truly enjoyed being involved in officiating for 53 years,” Maconaghy said. “The Patriot League, Ivy League and Colonial Athletic Association, its leaders, administrators, coaches and players have continuously excelled with great athletics, great scholarship, and great sportsmanship. I have been very grateful to have had the opportunity to be a member of the team.”


 
He worked as a referee in the three conferences, as well as the Yankee Conference and the Big East Conference, from 1986 until his retirement as a referee in 2000. Prior to that, he was a referee on the NCAA Division II and III levels for seven seasons, beginning in 1979. He has worked countless rivalry games during the regular season and been part of Championship game officiating crews including Division I-AA (1989, 1992, and 1995) and Division III (1985-86). During his career, Maconaghy has also had the privilege of officiating the 1997 Army vs. Navy game, the 1999 Eddie Robinson Football Classic (Kansas at Notre Dame) and the 1999 Independence Bowl (Mississippi vs. Oklahoma). He has also officiated three Lafayette-Lehigh games and two Harvard-Yale games.

Maconaghy has been a clinician on the scholastic and collegiate level since 1986. In addition to serving as a coordinator of officials, he has served as the Game Day Coach/Quarterback Coordinator for the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles for 10 years. He was named the National Football Foundation “Collegiate Official of the Year” in 1996 and inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.

In addition to assigning officials for all Ivy League, Patriot League and CAA teams, Maconaghy coordinated clinics to educate officials and coaches on the intricacies of collegiate officiating, select the top officials for FCS football assignments as well as work with the coaches and institutions to evaluate the game performances on a weekly basis.
 
The three conferences expect to fill the position in early 2019.
 
ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE 
The Patriot League is in its third decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athletes can excel at both academics and athletics without sacrificing high standards. The Patriot League’s athletic success is achieved while its member institutions remain committed to its founding principle of admitting and graduating student-athletes that are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.