Crimson and Gold Connection; Phil Laurie

Welcome to Crimson & Gold Connection, keeping you connected to the people and current events at Pittsburgh State University. This is Trent Johnson, thanks for joining us for Crimson & Gold Connection. Today our guest is 2015 Maritorious Achievement Award recipient from Pittsburgh State University, Phil Lawry. Phil thanks for taking the time to join us. And did you attend Pittsburgh State University and what did you study while you were here? I graduated in 1970 and then hung around and got my master's in 1971. My field of study was physical education teaching and I had a minor in geography. Why did you decide to attend Pittsburgh State University? Really I started my education at Kansas State and went there to play basketball and found out that he's five foot eight player at that level was not going to probably make it. I made the freshman team all through the first cuts and the coach picked Winner decided that

I wasn't going to be able to make it and I stayed at Kansas State for a year and then transferred to Pittsburgh. And the football coach Tom Lester was my high school track coach so I knew some people at Pittsburgh and decided to train for it. During your time at Pittsburgh State University what were some of your favorite memories and what did you like about Pittsburgh State? Well immediately Trent I like everything about it. I like to fact it was smaller school and teachers really paid attention to you. Classes were smaller. I really felt like I should have started at Pittsburgh State after I got there. I liked the smaller town. The community loved the school and athletics was a very big community at that time so I felt that I stayed in real well at Pitt State. What did you do professionally once you left Pittsburgh State? When I left Pittsburgh I took a teaching assignment in Topeka and stayed there in education for 12 years.

I was a coach and physical education teacher at the senior high level back then that was before the middle schools and then went on to the Topeka High School as a basketball coach and was enjoying that. We had our daughter when we were at Pittsburgh and our daughter was getting older at that time and didn't have enough money to really send her through college so friend of mine was in school fundraising with readers digest and I thought okay I'll try this for a couple of years and I really enjoyed it and stayed with it for 20 years and worked Southeast Canada so I was very happy to go back and travel from Topeka to Pittsburgh and go down to Gleena and a lot of the people I went to school with were in schools down there so it made that very beneficial. What are you currently doing professionally?

Well now I'm retired and I am the supervisor of football officials for the MIAA conference and I also helped with the big 12 conference as a greater observer evaluator and instructor of all the camps and clinics for the big 12 conference. Before serving in this role I understand that you were in on field NCAA football official how did that become about and what did you enjoy about that career? It was very interesting I did not play high school football played in 10 football in third and fourth grade I enjoyed football but I was really a basketball guy and wanted to be a basketball official and I took a officiating course from Prennest Guedgin at Pint State and believe it or not there's two NFL guys that took that same course and about five of us the division one football that took the course from Prennest and really learned a lot about how to officiate a game so when I got to Topeka I stayed in Prennest and did basketball the first

couple of years. My brother was a football referee and he talked me into officiating high school with him and I just fell in love with it and then started working at small college junior college games and then got into scrimmages at TAU and K State and worked my way up and into that working 24 years division one and the big eight and big 12. I was fortunate enough to work believe it was 18 ball games two big 12 championships two national championships and it was just something I really loved and then when I retired I wanted to get back so when the opportunity at Jim Johnson the idea to state is the person that hired me and the MIAA as the supervisor Jim was the commissioner at that time. When you look back on all the big games that you officiated what's the most memorable moment or game or does anything stand out to you during

your career as an official? You know you hear people say all games are big and they are there are some that are a little bigger just because of the national TV and all that stuff but any game you work if you don't get goosebumps when you hear the next anthem I think you got something wrong with you but I would say to answer your question the Florida Florida State and the Sugar Bowl national championship game was big rose bowl with Michigan and Southern California that was a real big national championship but Dr. Thomas Burns last game in the big 12 championship San Antonio when no one knew it was his last game but I kind of knew it because when I went to get the captain previews in the hallway and had an old shirt on our coaching shirt and I just said what coach you think Nebraska could afford any shirts for you these mountains they will feel this pretty special shirt so you'll understand the next day that was his last game so

that was pretty exciting and just all the experiences I can I work 258 degrees of one games and I think I can tell you a story about each game it's just that kind of an atmosphere that you just remember things. Turning the attention towards the 2015 Maritorious Achievement Award from Pittsburgh State University how does it feel to be named as one of those recipients this year? I was shocked. In fact I totally alumni and you guys when he called but I thought he was my brother and pulling a trick on me or something but I'm humbled you know you want to be recognized by your peers and officiating and to be recognized by your school I'm just I get tears thinking about it it's going to be hard to to talk in front of people about this because K and I my wife we were married when we were at Pittsburgh and it's just a special place so I will be tickled to be

there. What is the most rewarding thing that you've done over the course of your career? Wow other than having our kids then our grandkids just helping others I think that's probably the most rewarding thing I see football officials that I've helped rise to the highest heights from Super Bowls and the NFL to making it to Division I as an official as a supervisor in the MIAA we've now had over 25 guys in seven years 25 guys move on to from the MIAA to Division I football it just it makes it feel like it's one of your kids doing something great so helping the others I think is the thing that I think is the most important. What would you say to any alumni that may have lost touch with the university? I think as other alums get back to Pittsburgh and see the

changes that have happened over the years you know I was there in 1970 so quite a few years ago that when you see all the great things that has happened at Penn State it's pretty neat to see it you can go online and see it but you got to get back and see the Broadway Stittle Long Street and up back then that was pretty big deal to go from winning the Broadway to the other and to make it even you were pretty special so it's just a neat school and there are gorillas everywhere the split face gorilla when that came out and we've ever seen so many license plates when that thing started hitting the license plates on cars but once a gorilla always a gorilla again our guest today has been 2015 Maritorious Achievement Award recipient from Pittsburgh State University Phil Lawry for KRPS and Crimson & Gold Connection this is Trent Johnson

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