Thomas is the first female official to participate in a Super Bowl.
If you watched Super Bowl LV last Sunday, then you probably saw Sarah Thomas or heard the broadcasters mention her by name. She is the first female referee to officiate a Super Bowl game.
Sarah played basketball for the University of Mobile and loves sports. After college, she decided to make it her career.
In 1996, Thomas began her journey to officiating when she attended a Gulf Coast Football Officials Association meeting.
Gerry Austin, Conference USA coordinator of officials in 2006, invited Sarah to an officiating camp. He liked her commitment to the game and was impressed with her skills. So Austin hired her to officiate in Conference USA. A few years later, in 2009, Thomas was selected to work the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl–the first woman to officiate a bowl game.
The NFL came calling in 2015 and Sarah Thomas became the first permanently appointed female official in NFL history. She made her NFL regular-season debut on September 13, 2015, serving as a line judge. And that’s the role she played on the crew that called Sunday’s Super Bowl.
Congrats, Sarah Thomas!
