The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is set to add an extra official to their nine referee crews for the upcoming football season.

According to ESPN, SEC coordinator of football officials Steve Shaw announced the change at the conference's annual spring meetings Thursday. All nine crews will now consist of eight refs with the addition of a center judge.

The SEC added an extra official to one crew last season and were encouraged by that crew's results.

"I know the first question you're going to ask," Shaw told reporters. "'Good grief, now we've got an extra official. We're going to have more penalties, right? Just more penalties. That's all we're going to have.'"

The center judge's position will be opposite the main referee, standing in the backfield of the offense behind the quarterback and running back. The new judge's main duties appear to be helping spot the football and monitoring substitutions, but Shaw said the official will also keep an eye on the quarterback while the play is live.

"Our goal is going to be preventive officiating, and all I can tell you is data from last season," Shaw said. "We had nine crews last year and when you break it down to fouls per game, the crew that worked eight all year was dead in the middle. There were four crews that had more fouls per game, four crews that had less."

The last time the SEC added an official to their referee crews was in 1986 when they added a seventh judge. College football has undergone several changes recently, let alone since 1986, prompting the SEC to make a change.

"In 1986, we still had teams running the wishbone. The veer was probably the most prevalent offense out there. Yes, the game has changed," Shaw said. "Nobody had heard of the spread back then. Nobody thought to send five receivers out on a route. Well now, obviously we've got the spread, we've got tempo, people all over the field, and it's a tougher game to officiate."

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