Dick Honig

Who is Dick Honig?

Richard "Dick" Honig was an American football official for 41 years with 22 years in the Big Ten Conference and nine years in the Mid-American Conference and 20 years as a basketball referee for the Mid-American Conference. Working over fifteen bowl games, Honig's final football game was the 2005 Sugar Bowl between Virginia Tech and Auburn. Honig's officiating career in Division I college football spans over 350 games.

Dick began to play organized sports in high school and earned varsity letters in baseball, basketball, and football, and he received All-City and All-State honors in baseball and basketball two years in a row.

Honig is a 1963 graduate of the University of Michigan with bachelor's and master's degrees in Kinesiology. He was an All-Big Ten shortstop on the Wolverines national championship baseball team in 1962.

Dick coached for ten years at Michigan, as an assistant basketball coach and assistant baseball coach which also led to his officiating career since the coaches were also officials and to add to the salary since coaches were not paid well at the time, making just $5,400 a year.

Honig is still involved with the Big Ten Conference in a supervisory role and operates instant replay during games. Dick also trains and assigns officials for the European Federation of American Football, which he helped establish in 1988.