ArbiterSports is the sports officiating software company of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, and is a venture between two NCAA subsidiaries, Arbiter LLC and eOfficials LLC. The company is based in Sandy, Utah.
 | |
| Founded | Salt Lake City, Utah April 8, 1984 (Advanced Business Technology) 1984 (The Arbiter) 2009 (ArbiterSports) |
|---|---|
| Type | Private |
| Legal status | LLC |
| Headquarters | Sandy, Utah |
Region served | Global |
CEO | Kyle Ford |
| Website | http://arbitersports.com |
History
editThe Arbiter assigning system was created in 1984 by Advanced Business Technology, at the request of the Utah High School Activities Association, who hired ABT to build a computerized method of assigning sports officials to matches and managing their assignments. Known as TheArbiter, the software was originally released on the MS-DOS platform, then for Microsoft Windows in 1997. Arbiter was released as a web application in 2003, known as TheArbiter.NET.[1] Dave Yeast, former National Coordinator of Baseball Umpires for the NCAA, has served as the firm's vice president of officiating education.[2]
Acquisition by the NCAA
editArbiter was acquired by the NCAA in September 2008.[3][4][5] The NCAA said their purpose in the acquisition, along with their acquisition of eOfficials LLC the same month, was to improve the quality and consistency of officiating at all levels of play.[6]
Data breach 2020
editArbiter experienced a data breach in 2020 and was charged with a class action lawsuit. The court did not favor any decisions and a settlement was reached upon by all the parties involved for $26 million USD in 2021.[7]
Notes
edit- ^ Referee Magazine, February 2004
- ^ "Western Athletic Conference".
- ^ NCAA.org - NCAA Invests in Largest Officiating Management Organizations in Amateur Sports
- ^ Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Daily, September 26, 2008
- ^ Deseret News, page B2, January 24, 2009
- ^ NCAA invests in officiating companies[permanent dead link]
- ^ "ArbiterSports Data Breach Settlement 2021". 8 September 2021.