The History of TBOA
The Triad Basketball Officials Association (TBOA) was started around 1955 with only 16 schools. At that time, Jim Perry booked the girls games, and Jim Foxworth booked the boys games. Officials received a wage of only $6 per game and local “associations/clinics” were formed around these schools. Herman Hines, a clinician for TBOA, later took over as the boys booking agent and the local associations/clinics booked the girls games. The game fees have increased over the years to $91 per doubleheader, and in varsity contests, three-man crews are implemented in the early nineties. The TBOA now serves nearly 100 schools in the Piedmont Triad area of North Carolina.
In 1977, the TBOA consolidated into the association it is today. Associations/clinics from Burlington, Asheboro, Greensboro, Lexington, Winston-Salem, Mocksville, Reidsville, and High Point all came together to make up the individual clinics of our association. In 1981, Len Reynolds was named the Booking Agent for the TBOA.
Len started his career as a basketball official in Illinois in 1965. In 1975, he moved to Greensboro, NC and joined the TBOA where he would work for Jim Foxworth and Herman Hines for the next six years. During that span, he worked four State Championships and one East West All-Star game. Len served as the booking agent for approximately 30 years prior to his retirement in May 2011. During his tenure as Booking Agent, he continued to hone his officiating skills by working private school games every year. His tireless efforts and dedication to high school officiating were fully recognized when the NCHSAA awarded its 2011 Distinguished Service Award to Len on October 5, 2011. While Len retired as the TBOA Booking Agent, he continues to stay busy by officiating private school basketball games, volleyball and softball.
In June 2011, Kip Johnson was named the new TBOA Booking Agent. Kip spent over 15 years officiating basketball at both the high school and college level before retiring from the court in 1998. In 1991, Kip was added to the MAOA (Metrolina Athletic Officials Association) staff as a high school basketball official and would work several playoff games over the course of the following five years. He worked his first Regional Tournament and State Championship game in the spring of 1996 and later transferred to the TBOA in the fall of 1996 due to a job change. While in the TBOA, Kip officiated three more Regional tournaments, a State Championship in 1997 and the North Carolina / South Carolina All Star game. Collegiately, he worked primarily for the Carolina’s Conference and was a supplemental official on Fred Barakat’s ACC staff. Kip currently officiates football in the Atlantic Coast Conference as a Field Judge.
Arthur Hardin was named as TBOA Regional Supervisor in April 2022. His officiating journey started with the Northwest Basketball Officials Association in 1984 Winston-Salem before the invitation to join Triad. This started a 30+ year career that included numerous regional assignments, five NCHSAA state championship games including the 2022 3-A boys contest, two NCISSA state championships and the 2012 North Carolina Coaches Association East-West All-Star game. He also represents high school basketball officials across the nation as the representative to the National Federation of High School Basketball Rules Committee. In addition to basketball, he continues to officiate college football as a head line judge in the Atlantic Coast Conference after 13 years on the Southern Conference staff and as a current member of the local high school North State Football Officials Association. His time with organization has included leadership positions and developing and providing training of new and continuing officials.