When the Greater Miami Athletic Conference Basketball Officials Association (GMACBBOA) first formed, it did so with a mission to develop a strong group of basketball officials in Miami-Dade County, one committed to fostering high standards of sportsmanship both on and off the court and advancing high school basketball in South Florida. Part of the Greater Miami Athletic Conference (GMAC), GMACBBOA members agreed to pay annual fees in exchange for high-quality training, respectable pay per game and a governing organization that had their best interests at heart.
As the years passed, the GMACBBOA became critical to Florida sports, and members were constantly selected to officiate basketball games at the district, regional, state and, for many, even the collegiate level. The stronger the association became, the more GMACBBOA Executive Leadership wanted to do to maintain their success. They wanted to offer their members free in-season and summer officials training, reduced fees, scholarships for officials who want to pursue college training and a more cost-effective “starter package” to help fix a nationwide officials shortage. On top of that, the GMACBBOA wanted to ensure that the fees members were paying were actually being used to support Miami-Dade officials. After many discussions, both internally and with their parent organization, the GMACBBOA Executive Board made a tough decision:
It was time to go out on their own.
At the time, 95% of the 26 basketball officials associations in Florida were already independent. To join them, the GMACBBOA needed to petition the Florida High School Athletics Association (FHSAA) to sanction them as an independent association. The fight to get there was long and hard, spanning a year of difficult conversations, backstabbing, unflattering media wars and even a boycott that almost put the 2021 Miami-Dade County high school basketball season in jeopardy. But come November 15th, 2021, the reward was sweet—and the Miami Dade Basketball Officials Association (MDBOA) became a reality.
Today, the MDBOA is undeniably the best officials association in Florida. Leading in talent, leadership, training and success, our 145 members consist of middle school, high school, college and even NBA officials. While our time as an independent association may be short, our future is long.
