Retirement can be a lot of things. For Wilbur Hackett, Jr., it brought an end to his careers surrounding the game of football. This includes his time as a referee.
Wilbur Hackett, husband of Brenda Hackett, lecturer in nursing, has also been seen by thousands of people through YouTube.
In the 2008 game between South Carolina and LSU on Oct. 18, Wilbur Hackett made waves with a video that appeared to show him blocking a quarterback.
Surrounded in the middle of the action with giant men in football pads who outweigh him, Wilbur Hackett reacted on instinct, saying officials and players get knocked down all the time.
“A lot of people said I was pissed.… that I hit him on purpose, that I should be fired,” Wilbur Hackett said. “I had to explain to my supervisor that, on instinct, I protected myself. I couldn’t get out of the way.”
Brenda Hackett said she knows her husband protects himself and the other players while he’s out there.
“The guy was coming toward him,” Brenda Hackett said. “My son was at the game. He said it happened so quickly.”
After the incident, coaches from both teams and his supervisor agreed it was unintentional.
The blocked quarterback, Stephen Garcia, even took a picture with Wilbur Hackett.
“We hugged and made up,” Wilbur Hackett said.
Now Wilbur Hackett is being forced to retire.
Born in Winchester, Ky., in 1949, it was his age that ushered him into retirement — but not without one more year.
The Southeastern Conference has a mandated age limit of 60 for its officials.
However, Wilbur Hackett was asked to stay on during the 2010-11 football year.
For Wilbur Hackett, football quickly became not only a pastime but a passion of his, as well.
“My background is football,” Wilbur Hackett said. “I played organized football at age 8. I went to DuPont Manual, and, in the 10th grade, I joined the high school football team.”
In 1966, he was named team co-captain, marking the first time an African-American had been honored by any Manual team.
From there, Wilbur Hackett went on to be a three-year starting linebacker at the University of Kentucky, where he was one of the first African-Americans to play college football.
Wilbur Hackett also became the first African-American captain of an SEC football team.
After college, Wilbur Hackett didn’t get into professional football but decided to join the workforce instead.
He has been working as a team leader and trainer for Toyota the past 18 years.
Wilbur Hackett said he couldn’t stay away from football for long, and, at age 34, he decided to get back into the game.
He began officiating in 1986 for youth and high school football games.
Two years later, he began his 23-year span of college football officiating in the Mid-South Conference, which included smaller schools like Cumberland University, Georgetown College and West Virginia Technical University.
He officiated at this level for eight years before moving to the USA Conference.
Once there, he spent two more years officiating games.
In 1996, he began officiating games at the Division I level.
He has officiated approximately 11-to-12 games a year for the past 23 years.
Hackett said he has three games that really stick out in his mind as his favorites.
“My top three games include the last game I officiated, the Rose Bowl, because it was my last game,” Hackett said. “The Fiesta Bowl in 2006 was my second favorite. That game was between OSU and Notre Dame. My No. 1 game would have to be the 2009 SEC championship game between Alabama and Florida. At the time, Florida was No. 1 with Tim Tebow and Alabama was No. 2 with Mark Ingram. That was great.”
Bernardo Carducci, professor of psychology, knows Wilbur and Brenda Hackett.
He said he met Brenda through the community work she does on campus.
Carducci said he got to know Wilber Hackett and his family well enough to know the Hacketts were incredibly generous and all- around good people.
“These are two people that everybody says good things about,” Carducci said. “No one ever says anything bad about them. They are quality people.”
Although Brenda Hackett said she always felt confident about her husband’s safety on the field, she knew it was not only because of his good rapport with the players but also because of his personality.
“I would say that [my husband] is very sociable, sports-minded, outgoing…. a people person,” Brenda Hackett said. “He enjoys a challenge.”
A gregarious, hard-working football aficionado, Wilbur Hackett said he has gotten to spend almost a quarter of a century doing what he loves.
“I loved officiating,” Wilbur Hackett said. “I have a passion — a real passion for football. I love the game.”
By JENNIFER
SCHONSCHACK
Staff
jschonsc@ius.edu
