Probably never, but my point is I don't believe they are making bad calls because they are a homer. I think they are becoming too reliant on instant reply to bail them out. Then the replay isn't conclusive. I don't know what the problem is - but I'm confident it's not because they have an allegiance to a school or an extreme dislike for a school.
I wouldn't call them "homers," but every human being has internal biases. Everyone...for many different things.
Marc Curles- lives in Birmingham; he presumably has colleagues, friends, acquaintances who are Bama fans
Brent Sowell (umpire on Curles' crew)- former DL at Alabama
Ryan Hagan- Samford grad who went to Hoover High School; has a family member who went to UAB who is higher up in the SEC office for officiating; Hagan was the line judge who stopped our wildcat play on the goal line when Bama was confused on defense; I believe he is now on Lee Hedrick's crew, and Hedrick is from Sevierville and can't do our games.
Rob Skelton- went to Jacksonville State in Alabama; father was a QB at Alabama; allowed to call Bama games; look him up and read a Miss. State article on him
Eduardo Balbis (on Curles' crew) - Florida alum
Steve Shaw- former head of football officials who is a Bama grad
Anthony Jordan in basketball- lived in Louisiana and was an LSU fan who did our game a few years ago
Robert Bell- at one time, was the head of basketball officials and lived in Lexington; the conference didn't even pretend to have an issue when Bell and Shaw had their positions at the same time
Some may say that it is difficult to totally eliminate job opportunities to people who went to SEC schools or live in the south, but it really isn't. In the least, they can break it down to very few. This is a billion dollar business with a lot at stake, and there are competent officials who have very little attachment to the south or to certain schools. It's just a bad look, and the conference doesn't seem to care. The reason is because the fat cows continue to roll right along.
But even taking that out, Marc Curles (and his crew) have a long, vast history of making bad calls, to the point that Curles was publicly suspended for at least 2 weeks. Regardless of where he lives, how does the conference keep trotting him out there? He obviously can't officiate high level football. But, again, the conference doesn't care.