ALFRED, NY – The Empire 8 Athletic Conference has named 1981 Alfred University (AU) alumnus Bill Schuster coordinator of football officials.
 
"I am excited for the opportunity to give back to my own profession," said Schuster. "I am also looking forward to working closely with administration, athletic directors, and coaches to create an atmosphere of professional growth in officiating."
 
Schuster currently trains and evaluates NCAA game officials in the Big Ten and Mid-American Conference as well as scheduling officials for spring and summer scrimmage activities at the University of Buffalo.
 
He has been an official with the National Football League (NFL) since 2000 and has 11 years of NCAA college officiating experience. Schuster officiated the 2015 Super Bowl between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots and was an alternate official for the 2012 Super Bowl. He has also officiated the 2013 Pro Bowl and multiple Wild Card playoffs, divisional playoffs and NFC championship games. 
 
"Bill brings a great deal of enthusiasm and energy to the profession of football officiating," said Empire 8 Commissioner Chuck Mitrano. "His passion in giving back to the game and profession of officiating by mentoring and teaching his peers will be a great asset for Empire 8."
 
Schuster graduated from AU with a bachelor of science degree in business administration. He played four seasons (1976-79) for the Saxon football team, during which he was a two-time All-American wide receiver who once held the school record for career receptions. An assistant coach on the 1981 team that earned the school's first-ever NCAA playoff appearance, Schuster was elected into the AU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2003.
 
After graduation from Alfred, he worked three years as a financial aid director at the Stratford School of Business in Syracuse, also serving as an assistant coach at AU during the 1981, 1982 and 1983 seasons. In 1982, at the suggestion of a friend, Schuster decided to try his hand at officiating, beginning at the high school level.
 
Schuster steadily moved up the ranks of football officiating. He continued at the high school level through 1992. In 1988, he began working Division III college games as well, primarily Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Upstate New York contests. In 1992, he was promoted by the ECAC to officiate Division 1-AA games in the Yankee Conference (which consisted of the Patriot and Ivy leagues).
 
By then, Schuster had established himself as a talented umpire, the official who is responsible for the line of scrimmage: detecting holding and false start penalties and resetting the ball after each play.
 
Schuster's big break came in 1997, when he was chosen to officiate games for NFL Europe, which served in part as a developmental league for potential future NFL players. It also served as a proving ground for future NFL officials.  In 1998, Schuster was appointed to officiate Division I games in the Big East Conference. He officiated for the Big East for two years, while continuing to work NFL Europe games, which were played in the spring. In 2000, he got the job he'd been working toward for nearly 20 years: umpire on an NFL officiating crew.
 
Schuster is owner of Umpire Agency, an independent insurance agency in Lakeville, NY. He has served as an umpire in several playoff games, most recently in the NFC Divisional game between the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers on January 11, 2015. His first playoff game experience came in a January 2003 NFC Wild Card game at Green Bay between the Packers and Atlanta Falcons.