Baker and Melton Announced as D2 CCA Excellence in Officiating Award Winners

CLEVELAND -- The Division 2 Conference Commissioners Association (D2 CCA) has announced the inaugural recipients of the 2024 Excellence in Officiating Awards. Football referee Max Melton and basketball referee LaSonia Baker from the SAC earned this prestigious honor. 

Melton has worked as a SAC offical for 31 years, since 1993, and has refereed over 200 games in his career. He is a six-time Referee Position Chief for the SAC and his crew has consistently graded out near the top of the crews in performance ratings. He has retired after the 2024 season and will continue to serve the conference as an observer and game evaluator. He is a member of the SAC Football Officials Association Hall of Fame. 

Baker has been with the league for six years and was a 2023 DII Women's Basketball official in the Final Four. She also has worked two regionals in her time. She is approachable to coaches and players and exudes basketball rules knowledge and mechanics. 

The awards will be presented to one male and one female official in each NCAA Division II Championship Regions. Awards are presented by the gender of the official regardless of the sport officiated.

Conference offices solicited nominations from the conference supervisor of officials and selected one male and one female to submit for the regional award. Upon receipt of all nominees, voting was conducted by the commissioners within each of the following regions – Atlantic, Central, East, Midwest, South, Southeast, South Central and West – to select the following regional winners.

First Name Last Name Sport Region

Female Recipients

LaSonia Baker Basketball Southeast
Jennifer Dumaine Soccer Atlantic
Kathleen Lynch Basketball East
Lila Remache Soccer South
Amy Sanchez Basketball Central
Lezley Smith Basketball West
Karen Swanner Soccer Midwest
Jennifer White Basketball South Central

Male Recipients

Larry Fetterhoff Volleyball Atlantic
Gene Grimshaw Basketball Midwest
Craig Hesler Football, Basketball Central
Kenny Kelarek Football South Central
Mark Lima Baseball East
Mat Mason Basketball West
Max Melton Football Southeast
Corey Taylor Men's Basketball South

About D2 CCA: Initiated in 1992 to promote its member conferences and institutions, D2 CCA has made its mark in providing a united front for NCAA Division II athletics. Created after the break-up of the College Division Commissioners Association, the D2 CCA continues to create lines of communication and opportunities for its member conferences. The D2 CCA is administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), which is in its 60th year. For more information on NACDA and the 18 professional associations that fall under its umbrella, please visit www.nacda.com.