Contact: Brock Reisler, Assistant Executive Director, breisler@midwestconference.org
 
HILBERT, Wisconsin – The Midwest Conference joins other Division III and Division II leagues in celebrating Fall Officials’ Appreciation Week October 4 - 10.
 
2026-27 marks the fifth year of the initiative originally created by the Division III Commissioners Association (DIIICA). The goal of the initiative is to recognize the role of officials in the conduct of intercollegiate athletics by pausing in advance of contests taking place during the respective Appreciation Week and offering a small token of appreciation.
 
Officials’ Appreciation Week will be observed during each of the traditional sport seasons. In addition to this week’s celebration, winter sports will recognize officials from January 17-23, while spring sports will do the same from April 4-10.
 
In addition to sparking the creation of Officials’ Appreciation Week, the Division III Commissioners Association (DIIICA) Strategic Plan for Collegiate Officiating served as a catalyst for a collaborative venture between the NCAA and the National Association of Sports Officials (NASO) - Say Yes to Officiating. Say Yes to Officiating aims to create partnerships between the NCAA and other organizations to recruit, retain, educate and train officials. Last September, NASO and the Division III Commissioners Association (DIIICA) launched a companion officiating recruitment effort aimed at NCAA Division III student-athletes called “Stay In the Game”. For more information, click here.