College football is back and with it comes a litany of different characters that contribute to the game in ways beyond the standard running, catching, and tackling that happens on the field.
With multiple rule changes and an ever-evolving definition of what constitutes a catch, rules officials who can interpret and accurately explain the complexities of officiating are becoming an even more critical component of TV broadcasts.
One of the more prominent faces of rules explanation is Matt Austin, ESPN’s Officiating Analyst. Who is Matt Austin, and how did he become the lead officiating analyst at ESPN? Let’s take a look.
Who Is Matt Austin of ESPN?
A former Southeastern Conference official for nearly two decades, Matt Austin joined the broadcast team at ESPN and the SEC Network in 2019. Austin was a referee for 15 years in the SEC and four years in the Ohio Valley Conference while also spending four seasons as an official in the Mid-South Conference of the NAIA level.
Austin worked several postseason assignments as an official during the course of his career, including three SEC Championship games and two College Football Playoff semifinals, including the 2015 Rose Bowl.
In the Rose Bowl, Austin handled a brutal scenario as a live ball flew right at him during a play. As Florida State’s quarterback ran to evade a rush, he lost control of the football, and it headed squarely in Austin’s direction, who attempted to backpedal out of the way.
Unfortunately, Austin tripped and fell in front of millions of viewers on national TV. He was later shown chuckling while jogging off after following the play, showing some good-natured understanding of what was likely to come.
Due to the fact that the SEC almost always had a representative in the College Football National Championship Game, Austin was prevented from working the game along with all other SEC officials as a way of maintaining integrity in the games.
Austin contributes weekly to games and studio shows across the ESPN platform from SEC Network’s studios in Charlotte, allowing him to provide analysis to accompany the network’s diverse and expansive college football programming.
With the growing presence of rules officials on television broadcasts, Austin joins an elite group of former officials that is headlined by one of the original purveyors of the job in Mike Pereira with Fox.
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In addition to Pereira, Dean Blandino also works for Fox, with Gene Steratore performing the same role at CBS. NBC added Terry McAulay for their broadcasts, and John Parry has worked the same job as Austin for Monday Night Football broadcasts on ESPN.
Austin works as a corporate manager for Sumitomo Drive Technologies when he isn’t explaining the intricacies of the college football rule book for ESPN.
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