Big Ten Conference investigation into officiating conduct in two games last season found no evidence that the games were compromised, the league announced Friday.
The conference examined two games -- Illinois at Ohio State and Purdue at Penn State -- that included an officiating crew led by Stephen Pamon, a longtime Big Ten referee who was the subject of a Yahoo! Sports investigation last fall.
<!-- subbed these two grafs in from AP's earlier reporting of this story, to be precise. -->Yahoo! Sports reported that Pamon, a Big Ten official since 1988 and chief of a seven-man crew in 2007, and his wife filed for bankruptcy in 2002 and two of the creditors were casinos. Pamon's sister-in-law, Gina Banks, told Yahoo! that Pamon regularly gambled in casinos and the gambling he and his wife did contributed to their bankruptcy. There was no evidence Pamon bet on sporting events.
Yahoo! also reported Pamon had been charged with beating three of his girlfriend's four sons with an electrical cord. The felony charges were later reduced, and Pamon was convicted of a misdemeanor.
In its report, Yahoo! Sports never alleged that Pamon had bet on games he officiated, but two games that his crew worked came into question.
After a Nov. 3 loss to Penn State that featured several debatable calls, Purdue coach Joe Tiller filed an official complaint to the league. A week later, Pamon's crew worked the Illinois-Ohio State game, which also featured some controversial moments. The Sporting News reported that Pamon and his crew were suspended for the final week of the regular season.
The Big Ten spoke with Pamon during its investigation, which included law enforcement officials, NCAA officials and a private investigative firm, Las Vegas Sports Consultants, Inc.
"Upon the conclusion of our investigation, the Big Ten is secure in its belief that these games were not compromised," commissioner Jim Delany said in a statement. "We thank law enforcement, the NCAA, and the other organizations and individuals involved in our fact-finding effort for their assistance. As a result of this review, we have made several adjustments to our background check program."
The league said it will conduct annual background checks of all its football officials and tighten its oversight of officials' legal gambling activities that aren't related to sports.
Sources told The Columbus Dispatch that the Big Ten did not renew Pamon's contract for this season.
"Officials will be required to disclose any non-sports-related gambling activities," Delany said, "and they will be prohibited from engaging in these activities during the period of time encompassing their officiating assignments."
The conference examined two games -- Illinois at Ohio State and Purdue at Penn State -- that included an officiating crew led by Stephen Pamon, a longtime Big Ten referee who was the subject of a Yahoo! Sports investigation last fall.
<!-- subbed these two grafs in from AP's earlier reporting of this story, to be precise. -->Yahoo! Sports reported that Pamon, a Big Ten official since 1988 and chief of a seven-man crew in 2007, and his wife filed for bankruptcy in 2002 and two of the creditors were casinos. Pamon's sister-in-law, Gina Banks, told Yahoo! that Pamon regularly gambled in casinos and the gambling he and his wife did contributed to their bankruptcy. There was no evidence Pamon bet on sporting events.
Yahoo! also reported Pamon had been charged with beating three of his girlfriend's four sons with an electrical cord. The felony charges were later reduced, and Pamon was convicted of a misdemeanor.
In its report, Yahoo! Sports never alleged that Pamon had bet on games he officiated, but two games that his crew worked came into question.
After a Nov. 3 loss to Penn State that featured several debatable calls, Purdue coach Joe Tiller filed an official complaint to the league. A week later, Pamon's crew worked the Illinois-Ohio State game, which also featured some controversial moments. The Sporting News reported that Pamon and his crew were suspended for the final week of the regular season.
The Big Ten spoke with Pamon during its investigation, which included law enforcement officials, NCAA officials and a private investigative firm, Las Vegas Sports Consultants, Inc.
"Upon the conclusion of our investigation, the Big Ten is secure in its belief that these games were not compromised," commissioner Jim Delany said in a statement. "We thank law enforcement, the NCAA, and the other organizations and individuals involved in our fact-finding effort for their assistance. As a result of this review, we have made several adjustments to our background check program."
The league said it will conduct annual background checks of all its football officials and tighten its oversight of officials' legal gambling activities that aren't related to sports.
Sources told The Columbus Dispatch that the Big Ten did not renew Pamon's contract for this season.
"Officials will be required to disclose any non-sports-related gambling activities," Delany said, "and they will be prohibited from engaging in these activities during the period of time encompassing their officiating assignments."
