Walt Anderson (American football official)

Infobox Person
name = Walt Anderson


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birth_date =
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education = University of Texas
(Doctorate of Dentistry, 1978)
Sam Houston State University
(Bachelor's degree, 1974)
occupation = NFL official (1996–"Present")
Coordinator of Football Officials, Big 12 (2006–"Present")
spouse = Married
parents =
children = Five children
nationality = USA

Dr. Walt Anderson (born c. 1952) is an American football official in the National Football League (NFL) since the 1996 NFL season.cite news | url=http://www.big12sports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/042606aaa.html | title=Walt Anderson Named Big 12 Conference Coordinator Of Football Officials | publisher=Big 12 Conference and CSTV | date=2006-04-26 | accessdate=2006-07-21] Anderson spent his first seven seasons in the NFL as a line judge before being promoted to referee for the start of the 2003 NFL season. He is notable for officiating Super Bowl XXXV. He wears uniform number 66. Anderson's 2008 NFL officiating crew consists of Butch Hannah, Phil McKinnely, Byron Boston, Gary Cavaletto, Laird Hayes, Terrence Miles.

Personal

Early life

Born in Florida, Anderson was raised in Channelview, Texas where his father was a high school football head coach.cite news | title=Big 12 officials get plenty of looks | url=http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/111706dnspobig12officials.2ebd62b.html | first=Brian | last=Davis | publisher="The Dallas Morning News" | date=2006-11-17 | accessdate=2007-09-04] He played quarterback for his father at Channelview. Later, he attended and graduated from Sam Houston State University in 1974 and played football for the school. At Sam Houston, he was a two-time Academic All-American and lettered four years.

Family

He is married to Afshan and has five children. He currently resides in Sugar Land, Texas.

Other professions

After completing his undergraduate studies at Sam Houston, he became a dentist and received a Doctorate of Dentistry from the University of Texas Dental Branch. He retired from dentistry in 2003 when he was promoted to referee in the NFL.

On April 26, 2006, Anderson was named "Coordinator of Football Officials" for the Big 12 Conference, succeeding former NFL field judge, Tim Millis, in this position.

Officiating career

Early years

Wanting to stay active in football following college, Anderson decided to pursue a career in officiating. He began officiating junior high and little leagues, high school, then eventually college. In 11 years of college experience, he worked games in the Lone Star (Division II), Southland (Division I-AA), and Southwest Athletic Conferences (Division I). At the college level, Anderson was scouted by ex-NFL officials who were looking to fill openings at the professional football level.

National Football League

Anderson joined the NFL in 1996 and since then he has worked playoff games in every year of eligibility, including five Wild Card, two Divisional and three Championship games, with the pinnacle being Super Bowl XXXV in 2000 as of the 2006 NFL season. Anderson cites Super Bowl XXXV as being his most memorable game.cite web | first= | last= | url=http://web.archive.org/web/20030828212939/http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news_room/news/arts/2181.0.html | title=Q&A with NFL Referee Walt Anderson | publisher=Cleveland Browns | date=2003-08-26 | accessdate=2006-07-21]

References