Savannah State Alumnus Officiates Super Bowl XLIII


Roy Ellison pictured center.
Roy Ellison pictured center.

Savannah State University graduate Roy Ellison was a part of the officiating crew that refereed Super Bowl XLIII on February 1, 2009 when the Arizona Cardinals were defeated by the Pittsburgh Steelers in Tampa, Florida.

Completing his sixth season as an NFL official, this was Ellison’s first game as a Super Bowl official.

“That was my first Super Bowl assignment. This year was my first year of eligibility for the Super Bowl and I was fortunate enough to earn the assignment in my first attempt. I worked the Pro Bowl in 2004, the Divisional playoff between Chicago and Carolina in 2005, an alternate in the 2006 Wildcard game between the Giants and the Eagles and I worked my first championship in 2007 between the Packers and the Giants. The Giants eventually went on to win the Super Bowl against the undefeated Patriots,” he said.

A 1987 SSU honor graduate with a undergraduate degree in computer science, Ellison played guard and center for the Tigers from 1983-86. Ellison was a part of the offensive line that paved the way for Casey Grigley to become the first 1,000-yard rusher in the history of the school in 1985. Ellison’s day job is with AT&T where he is an voice engineer.

Ellison earned the assignment through the league’s evaluation system in which the highest-rated officials at each position with the required experience are chosen to work the game. Super Bowl officials must have at least five years of NFL expe- rience and previous playoff assignments.

“I graded out this season as the top ranked Umpire in the League. There are 17 officials in each 7 positions on the field and then there is an additional Umpire that floats between crews. He is there because of the amount of injuries that the Umpire incur through the course of the season. We are graded every play of every regular season game and our scores are cumulative through the end of the season. The top ranked 8 of 17 crews will work the Wildcard and Divisional playoff games. The top 3 officials in each position will work the two Championship games with the top ranked guy working the Super Bowl.”

When asked on his thoughts about working Super Bowl XLIII, Ellison said “It was an unbelievable experience that I will always remember. The atmosphere was unlike any other that I had ever been involved. But once the game started, I was able to buckled down, focus in and call it like it was just another game.”

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