(gentle music) - [Mary] I didn't know women could be football officials.

That didn't even cross my mind that we could be a football offi (gentle music) - [Tangela] Me being on the side with the coaches and the teams as a line of scrimmage person, you do hear the comments, "Oh, she's a girl, she doesn't know what she's doing."

- Women have to work harder.

I look at myself because by me being a first, I had to work harder.

For the women on the field, It's still hard because you're still in a male organization.

They still don't think you belon They still don't think you can o (group chattering) - [Narrator] Football, the ultim More Americans watch football than attend religious services.

Holidays are based around it, and it's more popular than all other professional sports combined.

Women's participation has historically been limited to cheering the teams on, having little impact in the game.

Yet, some are competing to be part of the game as referees or officials.

Across the country, there are over 3,000 college officials.

Among them stand 52 women.

- [Mary] There was moments earlier in my career where I worried about, well, how are they going to feel about a female official out here?

(gentle music) - My godfather said, well, he knew I was battling cancer.

I was diagnosed.

So he says to me, "Why don't you come and start officiating football?"

I'm like, "Are you crazy?

Are you really crazy?"

They're not going to accept a wo I'm already battling cancer.

I really don't want to have to be battling these men.

I went to the meeting, sat in th They called my name, and everybody in the association turned around.

And they turned around.

They looked at me, and a couple of guys said, we're not going to officiate wit And that's when I made my mind u I said, well, you must be leavin because I'm here to stay.

I'm not going anywhere.

- [Narrator] Annice Canady was the very first NCAA female football official.

She currently works as a game day assistant and officiating scout for the NF - The ball from the other side and you have no responsibility on your side.

You officiate from the outside i I've had a cancer three differen and I was on that football field So I can use officiating basically saving my life because I wasn't focused on what I was going through physica I was focused on what I was battling within just from officiating.

- [Narrator] Tangela Mitchell st her career 10 years ago, officiating high school games.

During the past six years, she has officiated in three different NCAA conferences.

- I got started with a friend of mine, actually.

We had a conversation and he was like, "Oh, Tangela, you're, you know, you was an athlete in college so you might love to officiate."

And so I was like, "Oh yeah, I would love to officiate in bas And he says, "No, football."

Ball out, ball out, ball out.

Immediately I was like, "Women don't do that.

Are you kidding me?"

As a female, I'm going to be on the field with, you know, these coaches and these players.

I needed to know the rules.

I needed to know everything.

He repeated his progress, so he was holding it.

- When you're on the field as a it's not like they're looking for you to come out there.

Oh, we got a female official.

Oh, she's going to be great.

They basically are looking for f or to see if you really know what you're doing.

- Once they're in the three-poin and put their hand down, they can't put it back up.

- Scrimmage may pick his hand up any time he wants to, ask the wh Do not call back.

- Forward, go!

(referee whistling) - Grab the ball- - 78!

78!

(referee whistling) (upbeat music) - [Narrator] For over 15 years, Mary Podesta has officiated the for the love of the game.

- 10!

10!

Pull!

Pull!

Push down, coach!

The best one was that my uniform needed to be tailored.

It's pretty obvious when I step out on the field that they're getting a female of Whether you're looking at it from the front or looking from behind, you know This is a luxury.

You don't realize a lot of schoo when I first started officiating, most schools, they didn't even have a locker room for women.

So you always wear your underarm or underneath for just in case all of a sudden you're like, "Uh-oh, they don't have anywhere for me to get changed."

I'm wearing the L on my back, so that gives everybody the opportunity to say, "Hey ref, what's that L for?

Los That's always a good one, I love to hear that one from people in the stands.

(crowd cheering) Honestly, if that's the only thing they find wrong, is that my uniform needs to be t then I guess I'm doing some thin (referee whistling) Let's remember fourth down, fumb is not only just on fourth down, but it's also during the tries.

We need to make sure that we know who had that ball when they cough it up.

Make sure that once anybody else picks it up, other than the original ball car that we shut that down.

(referee whistling) You're always working to try to have a perfect game.

I mean, even today, I walk off t and I know there are times when something just didn't feel And when you know it doesn't fee it's pretty much gonna show up on game film that it probably wasn't right.

(upbeat music) (crowd cheering) (upbeat music) - So when I'm looking at these p what I do is I just look.

And anything that doesn't look like football and jumps out at me is what I usually write down.

And just bring it back to the group to see and say, you know, did we miss it?

Did we get it right?

He had all the deep judges come in and separate the teams because after this happened and it doesn't show up on film is when he probably yelled, "We - All right, you guys, everyone - Yep.

- Okay.

- Your football family understands why you're here every Saturday on the field, sometimes in the rain, sometimes in the snow.

They're the brothers I kinda wish I always had, you know?

And I know that they got my back out there, and, you know, we're all working and being able to take care of another family.

(gentle music) - She's played, she's coached, so why not rep?

(chuckles) And if you're gonna rep, why not Why not go for it?

- I'm hugely supported by my fam They get excited about my football officiating.

Every game I step out on the field I try to be better.

And my parents get that.

My family gets that.

My parents though, the first junior college game that they were able to go to, unfortunately a fight breaks out in the stands.

In the stands!

Not even on the field!

In the stands!

And they were like, "Does that happen at every game?"

(group laughing) (upbeat music) - [Narrator] To compete for posi in the top conferences, officials attend camps in the off-season in hopes of being promoted.

For three days during the Harold Mitchell Camp, over 200 officials train under N and NCAA Division I clinicians.

All officials must demonstrate a mastery of not only the playing rules, but proper positioning, mechanics, and signals.

- But I want you to come at this and when you get here, be statio Now you're just waiting on them to come to you.

If it's short, you go to where i and go in, all right?

- [Narrator] The stakes are high Every snap is an audition.

- They need to be able to be out on the field, in-game situations where you can see how they move, how they react.

And the best way to get better is to have those officials that have achieved help you beco With the female officials, and this has only been in the last few years, they're starting to get the oppo We happen to have at this camp as one of our trainers the first female official in major college football.

Her name is Annice Canady.

When she started and it was 20-something years ago, she was really the only person.

- Like when the ball is thrown here on your side of the field and the traffic is so you getting out the way, righ - Well, if it's the quarterback coming to my way, they want us to come straight ba - Right.

- But if anybody else, they want us to give way.

- All right.

- Give way, yes.

- I just want you to say it.

- Two, two, two.

Everyone is trying to go to the next level, and there are a lot of good officials out here.

Just because you're a woman does not mean anything.

You're amongst the best of the best out here, and that's what they're looking They're not looking for a woman best of the best.

They're looking for the best of the best of all officials.

All these NFL officials out here all the high-level NCAA officials out here, they can be doing anything.

They don't have to come here.

They don't have to, you know, he and bring up another official, but they do.

- Who's the kid?

Very good.

(referee whistling) - Pat is really, really patient.

Very, very knowledgeable, but at the same time, he's gonna still tell you the tr and try and help you get better.

(referee whistling) - [Narrator] During the camp, officials work 4 to 5 scrimmages They are often on the field for more than 10 hours under intense pressure.

- It was the end for two.

- Good job.

- [Narrator] After each day, they receive a score based on their performance, ranging from 1 to 10.

To receive a 10 takes several years of training.

These scores are used by confere in hiring for top positions.

- Right there is perfect, okay?

Everything was perfect.

I want you here.

One thing I want you to do is go that way, okay?

Because the sport down, everything was perfect, but point it out there.

You're letting everybody know, and now we have a change of poss we're going in another direction (referee whistling) - [Narrator] They must prove they have what it takes to advan - Many officials get hired out of this camp, so the stakes are very high.

I believe that she will move up.

I believe she'll make it to the next level and I believe that she can go as high as she would like to go.

- [Narrator] For the first time, Tangela receives a 10 out of 10.

- I am really glad that I came because I was really torn about if I was going to come or not.

On Tuesday, my mother passed awa - Oh, sorry to hear that.

Sorry to hear that.

- But my family and my brother especially told me that she was proud of me and she wanted me to come.

She would want me to come.

- Definitely.

- My first camp, I got all sevens.

(chuckles) - Okay.

- And one of the things I had said to her was, "Mom, I can't wait till I get a 10 at a camp."

And so yesterday, when you gave me the evaluation, it just was kind of confirmation that, you know, she wanted me to - And my mom passed away, and it was a difficult time for But one thing I want you to do is just cherish the memories, ok Because when you cherish those m it's gonna be always like she's still with you.

And believe me, when my mom pass I said, "I'm never gonna see her - Yeah, that's what- - But I'm gonna tell you what happened, I still see her.

- Wow.

- And it's something very special and it's gonna happen to you, okay?

So you'll see her again in your but cherish those memories, okay - Thank you so much.

I didn't know that happened to you too as well.

- It's okay.

- Thank you, thank you.

I appreciate that.

- All right, good job.

- Thank you.

- Really proud of you.

Just keep it up, okay?

- Yes, sir.

- It's gonna take you a long way.

(gentle music) - [Narrator] After scoring a perfect 10 at the camp, Tangela hopes to be promoted.

Several weeks pass.

She does not advance.

The following season was the hardest of her career.

She was only scheduled for two games out of eight.

I'm sorry.

(gentle music) It was less than 24 hours that she passed away and I was on the field in front of clinicians.

And no one knows you're going th and no one honestly really cares When we step on that field, we just have to block all of tha At a clinic, at a camp, at a gam Every single snap is an audition (upbeat music) (crowd cheering) (referee whistling) - You're not gonna be good after one season.

You're not gonna be good after three seasons.

Work, it takes work.

Don't give up.

I think every time I'm stepping on the field, I wanna be better.

And so if you're that kind of a driven person, then this is kind of for you.

- You did a little skip and almost stopped.

Keep moving.

Just move into it when you do th It takes courage.

It takes mental preparation, and it takes physical strength.

The mindset in terms of I can do having the tough skin to know what you're battling and going up against, which are, you're in an all-male organizati And with that being said, you al that you already walk in with strikes against you.

(referee whistling) Did he stop the call?

- Didn't know, I didn't see.

- Stay in your lane.

- Throw your flag, and this is g (uplifting music) - [Narrator] Several months late the Pac-12 football conference, one of the most prestigious conf invites Tangela into the Pac-12 the Officials Development Progra - [Speaker] It's not 11 o'clock, it's 11:02, you're late.

- [Tangela] In football, you're not gonna get pats on the You're not gonna get a that a girl or a that a boy.

You are expected from fans and t and the coaches to be perfect.

It's a thankless job.

At the same time, it's one of the toughest jobs you'll ever, ever love.

(upbeat music) - You know, you're a trailblazer I never even looked at it that w I just looked at myself in terms of being an official in the field and then I realized, I was breaking barrier and was opening doors to somethi - I've been fortunate enough thi to work a couple of the 49er pra You know, it's one of those kind of once in a lifetime things and it's been a blast.

It's been awesome.

- We just want to be respected as officials, not great woman officials, we want to be respected as offic And one of the things that we always talk about in our women's group is that we have to bring ourselves up to a higher level.

We have to have our own standard on top of the standard that they give us.

(upbeat music)