Maia Chaka ) is a former official in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). She wore uniform number 100. She was the first black woman hired by the NFL as an on-field official. The native of

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

became the league's third female on-field official after

Shannon Eastin Shannon Eastin (born 1970) is a former NFL official; she was the first female official of the National Football League (NFL). She has spent 16 combined seasons officiating for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, high school games, and for the ...

and Sarah Thomas.

Officiating career

Chaka began officiating in 2007 at high school football games in Virginia. By 2009, she officiated the Virginia State High School Championship Game hosted in

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...

at UVA Scott Stadium on the campus of the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

. In 2011, she began officiating Division I football with

Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...

. Chaka served as an official for the

2013 Fight Hunger Bowl The 2013 Fight Hunger Bowl is an American college football bowl game that was played on December 27, 2013 at AT&T Park in San Francisco, San Francisco, California. It was one of the 2013–14 NCAA football bowl games, 2013–14 bowl games that co ...

, along with Thomas. Chaka joined the Officiating Development Program for the NFL in 2014. In 2018, Chaka began working regular season

Pac-12 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

games. In 2019, Chaka began officiating

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

women's basketball. In the 2020/2021

season, Chaka was the

head linesman In gridiron football, an official is a person who has responsibility in enforcing the rules and maintaining the order of the game. During professional and most college football games, seven officials operate on the field. Since 2015, Division ...

, including at the

2021 Senior Bowl The 2021 Senior Bowl was a college football all-star game played on January 30, 2021, at 1:30 p.m. CST, at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. The game featured prospects for the 2021 draft of the professional National Football Leag ...

. On March 5, 2021, Chaka received her promotion as an on-field official for the

. Her first NFL game as line judge was on September 12, 2021, between the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

and the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

. On April 24, 2024, ''Football Zebras'' reported that Chaka had left the NFL.

Education and non-officiating career

In 2000, Chaka graduated from Edison Career & Technology High School, Rochester. She graduated from

Norfolk State University Norfolk State University (NSU) is a public historically black university in Norfolk, Virginia. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and Virginia High-Tech Partnership. History The institution was founded on September 18, 1935 a ...

in 2006. Chaka began her career in education as a health and physical education teacher at Virginia Beach Central Academy in 2006 which later became Renaissance Academy. In 2008, Chaka founded G.E.M.S. (Girls with Empowering Minds and Spirits), a club designed to promote self-esteem, academic achievement, and educational encouragement. In 2021, after 15 years with Renaissance Academy, Chaka accepted the position of Student Success Coordinator with An Achievable Dream Academy in Virginia Beach. In 2021, Chaka founded the nonprofit Make Meaningful Change (MMC).

Awards

* Elliot Cushing Award (2023) * Orange Blossom Classic Breaking Barriers Award (2021) * Black Enterprise 40 under 40 Class of (2021) * ABC World News Person of the Week (2021) * Men for Hope Trailblazer Award (2019) * Virginia Beach Public Schools I Make a Difference Award (2019) * Virginia Beach Public Schools Teacher of the Year Award (2014) * Virginia Beach Public Schools I Make a Difference Award (2014) * Virginia Beach Central Academy Reading Teacher of the Year Award (2009)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaka, Maia African-American referees and umpires Year of birth missing (living people) Living people National Football League officials Women American football officials Sportspeople from Rochester, New York 21st-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American women

Officiating career

Education and non-officiating career

Awards

See also

References