Jeff Cooney has been named the Supervisor of Football Officials for the Ivy League and the Patriot League.
The Ivy League, along with the Colonial Athletic Association and the Patriot League, will join the football officiating alliance that was formed in the spring of 2018 by the Atlantic Coast Conference, the American Athletic Conference and the Big South Conference.
The alliance, effective immediately, will be administered by Dennis Hennigan, the ACC’s Supervisor of Football Officials, who will lead the operation of the alliance. He will be supported by supervisors of football officials from the AAC, CAA, Ivy League and Patriot League. Each supervisor will be responsible for the weekly evaluation of officials for their respective conferences and will be the primary point person between their conferences and head football coaches.
“Highly regarded during his time as an on-field official, Jeff brings a wealth of experience and a national reputation to this new role,” Ivy League Executive Director Robin Harris said. “We look forward to working with him as we continue to develop and enhance an officiating program that parallels the on-field performance of Ivy League football student-athletes and meets the expectations of Ivy League football student-athletes, coaches, administrators and fans.”
In his new role, Cooney will assign officials for the Ivy League and Patriot League in addition to working with League coaches and institutions to evaluate game performances on a weekly basis during the season and communicate rule changes and interpretations. He will also be tasked with coordinating educational opportunities for officials and coaches on the intricacies of collegiate officiating.
“I am very excited for this opportunity to join The Ivy and Patriot Leagues as the Supervisor of Football Officiating,” Cooney said. “I look forward to working with administrators, coaches and student-athletes to ensure that the football officiating program continues to meet the high standards of both Leagues.”
Cooney has served as an on-field official for 35 years, including 25 seasons of collegiate experience with 10 years in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and nine years in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). He was assigned to FCS Playoff games from 2002 and 2011, including the 2011 FCS National Championship Game. Cooney was a member of the officiating crew for two AAC Championship Games and three bowl games; the 2016 Hawaii Bowl, 2015 Heart of Dallas Bowl and 2014 Bahamas Bowl.
Away from the field, Cooney boasts more than 25 years of supervisory and management experience primarily in banking operations. He retired as the Senior Vice President at Bank of America in December 2015 after spending 26 years within the organization in various roles. He graduated from Goldey Beacom College in 1986 with B.S. in accounting.
Cooney replaces Jim Maconaghy, who stepped down as the CIP (CAA, Ivy League and Patriot League) Coordinator of Officials in December 2018 after 14 years of exemplary service.
The alliance will enable all six conferences to work together on a wide range of officiating matters, including scheduling, training, development, recruitment, retention and evaluation. The long-term mission of the alliance is to increase proficiency and consistency among veteran officials across the collegiate football officiating landscape and to facilitate the entry of younger officials into the profession.