RALEIGH, N.C. — The NCAA on Saturday replaced an official at halftime of the Chattanooga-North Carolina State women's basketball game, citing a “background conflict.”
Tomi Paris was removed from the first round of the NCAA Tournament and was replaced by Angelica Schuffran, who was playing in her first contest at the same venue.
“There was a change of game officials at halftime of the first-round game between Chattanooga and North Carolina State. This was because it was discovered after the game started that second umpire Tomi Paris had an underlying conflict, and it was made known that “She would not be able to perform her assigned duties if she were to do so,” the NCAA said in a statement in response to an inquiry from The Associated Press.
Parris' online profile shows she earned a master's degree from Chattanooga. The NCAA requires all parties being considered for participation in the NCAA Tournament to disclose their school affiliations to avoid potential conflicts. In this case, it was not revealed.
“They literally… took me to the locker room and said they were making changes,” Chattanooga coach Sean Poppy said of learning of the adjustment at halftime. “I don't know what happened. I didn't see anything concrete. It's probably the second time in my career that something like this has happened. But I was injured the other time, so… “I would have known. But this time, I'm not so sure.” ”
Safran, who was active in the previous Green Bay-Tennessee game, was on the court during the second half of the Chattanooga-North Carolina game. Daniel Jackson was listed as a standby official for the game.
The decision to return Safran to the court was “to provide the maximum on-court experience and allow the game to be maintained with all referees on standby,” the NCAA statement said.
Poppy said: “I thought that's what standby meant. But this is new to me too. We're all learning, so we don't know exactly what happened.” .
North Carolina State won 64-45.
In the fourth quarter, with the Mox trailing 50-28, Safran was called for a technical foul on Poppy.
