The crew is judged before the coin toss.
Coaches, assignors, and fans read your uniform in the first ten seconds, and that read follows you all night.
The Shirt: Stripe Standards
NFHS football officials wear the black and white vertical stripe shirt. Most state associations run the one inch stripe, and a growing number have moved to the two and one quarter inch stripe, so confirm with your assignor before you order. For the one inch standard, the Smitty FBS-102 long sleeve is the workhorse: 100 percent polyester, clean stripe lines, and a collar that holds its shape through a full season of washes. If your association runs the wider stripe, the Smitty FBS-137 performance mesh short sleeve covers the two and one quarter inch spec with fabric that breathes through August scrimmages. Buy the short sleeve for early season heat and the long sleeve for October. You will wear both.
Pants: Warm Weather and Cold
The NFHS standard is black pants with a white stripe down each leg. The real decision is fabric weight. For warm weather and turf fields, the Smitty FBS-182 lightweight pants keep you cool through four quarters without losing the tailored look. When the temperature drops, switch to the Smitty FBS-172 heavyweight cold weather pants. The heavier fabric blocks wind on open fields and holds a crease in November. Officials who work September in heavyweights sweat through the third quarter. Officials who work November in lightweights think about the cold instead of the play. Own both.
Shoes
All black, top to bottom, laces included. White swooshes and gray soles get noticed for the wrong reason. Cleated shoes handle wet grass. Flat soled turf shoes handle artificial surfaces. Whichever you wear, they should be clean at kickoff. A polished shoe says you prepared. A muddy one says you did not.
Hat Colors: White and Black
Hat color is position, not preference. The referee wears white. Everyone else on the crew wears black. The Smitty HT-101 solid white flex fit hat is the referee standard, and the Smitty HT-100 black flex fit with white piping covers wings, umpires, and back judges. Flex fit matters here. A hat that shifts when you sprint downfield becomes one more thing to manage during a live play.
Accessories: The Bag Inside the Bag
Every football official carries the same core kit. A Smitty ACS-504 double sided bean bag to mark the spot on fumbles and kicks. A down indicator on the wrist, and the Smitty ACS-508 hook and loop version stays put through contact. A Smitty ACS-511 penalty flag, plus a second one, because the night you carry one flag is the night you need two. A pealess whistle with a backup in your pocket. Game card and pencil. We covered the full accessory load in detail in our Football Officials Gear Checklist, and it is worth the read before your first assignment.
Layering for Late Season
Playoff football is cold weather football. The rule is simple: layers go under the stripes, and any visible undershirt sleeve must be black. The Smitty FBS-113 cold weather long sleeve is a heavy fabric shirt built exactly for this, and the Smitty FBS-122 hybrid adds water resistance for the games where it rains sideways. Add black gloves and a black knit layer under the collar and you can work a 30 degree night without your mechanics slowing down. You can find every piece in one place in our Football Officials collection.
The uniform does not make the calls, but it decides how much grace you get while you make them.
