SWAC: After Eddie Kelley's Passing, Veteran Official Named Interim Coordinator Of Football Officials

Originally posted on HBCUs on SI | By Kyle Mosley | Last updated Jun 8, 2025 9:17 PM ET

The Southwestern Athletic Conference has named Hubert Owens the Interim Coordinator of Football Officials for the upcoming season. He is familiar with HBCU football being an Mississippi Valley State alum and the son of Hubert Roosevelt Owens, who officiated SWAC and Mississippi high school games.

Owens brings nearly three decades of college football officiating experience with him having served as an official with Southeastern Conference (SEC), the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC).

“Due to the sensitive nature of this transition it was imperative that we identified someone with extensive college football officiating experience to lead our football officiating program for this upcoming season,” SWAC Commissioner Dr. Charles McClelland, said. “Mr. Owens brings a wealth of high-level officiating experience to our league as an official and administrator while also being uniquely familiar with our current officiating program having served beside Mr. Eddie Kelley over the course of the past several seasons.”

During his career officiating Owens officiated the inaugural SWAC Football Championship game in 1999 along with three SEC Championship games including the 2013 SEC Championship game where he was the first African American referee to serve in that capacity.

Owens also officiated post season bowl games including the Rose Bowl, two Fiesta Bowls, the Champs Sports Bowl, the Belk Bowl, the Beef-O-Brady Bowl, the Sun Bowl, the Alamo Bowl, the Heart of Dallas Bowl, and the Celebration Bowl.

As a former instant replay official in the league, Owens was a member of the crew for the 2022 and 2024 SWAC Championship games and the 2023 Bayou Classic. In addition to Owen’s on field accomplishments, he has served as an instructor, clinician and evaluator of talent at numerous football officiating camps during the offseason since 2008.

As an instructor/clinician, Owens has provided classroom training, on field training, and collaborated with college officiating coordinators in identifying talent and recommending prospective college football officiating candidates seeking to become football officials in Division I and Division II.

Notable Football Officiating Camps that Owens has participated in as a clinician include the Tom Beard Football Officiating Camp, the Diversity Development Officiating Camp sponsored by the SEC and the Big 10, the A-Team Football Officiating Camp hosted by former SWAC Coordinator of Football Officials Eddie Kelley and the Oxford Mississippi Football Officiating Camp.