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Cat Conti to become first female official to work a Big 12 game

Kansas Coach Charlie Weis said that he's excited to be a part of the milestone of having a woman officiate a Big 12 game.
(LM Otero / AP)
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Cat Conti is set to become the first woman to officiate a Big 12 game when she works the game between Kansas and Southeast Missouri on Sept. 6.

“She is not there because she is a female,” Bob Bowlsby, the league’s commissioner, said Monday. “She is there because she’s paid her dues and because she is a really outstanding football official. … This is a good opportunity for her and a good opportunity for us, and I don’t think you’ll really notice much about how the officiating is done on the game. But it’s significant that she’s doing it.”

Conti will be a full-time official in the Mountain West this season, and hopes to one day become an NFL official.

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“That’s the ultimate dream,” Conti told USA Today Sports. “But if this Big 12 game is the highest I ever get, it’s certainly been a great career.”

Kansas Coach Charlie Weis said that he’s excited to be a part of this milestone -- but added that he will have to make one major adjustment on the field.

“I’ll try to watch my language,” Weis said. “I believe in the old-fashioned way, so I’ll try not to use as many bad words. But it means nothing to me. It’s great that a woman is put in a position where they can be put on equal footing with the men, and if I said other than that, I’d be in trouble with my wife. So more power to her.”

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