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Maia Chaka, a 2006 Norfolk State graduate, is the first Black woman assigned to the NFL’s on-field officiating staff. As of the 2020-21 season, 10 alumni of historically Black colleges were NFL officials, including Dyrol Prioleau of Johnson C. Smith and Boris Cheek of Charlotte, a Morgan State graduate.

Maia Chaka has graduated to football officiating’s big stage.

Chaka is the first Black woman to earn a spot on the NFL’s on-field officiating staff, joining Sarah Thomas, who made history earlier this year by working a postseason game. A health and physical education teacher in the Virginia Beach, Virginia public schools, Chaka is a 2006 Norfolk State graduate, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in education.

As of the 2020 season, 10 Black college alumni were NFL game officials, including Johnson C. Smith’s Dyrol Prioleau, a field judge, and side judge Boris Cheek of Charlotte, a Morgan State graduate.

“I am honored to be selected as an NFL official,” Chaka said in a statement. “But this moment is bigger than a personal accomplishment. It is an accomplishment for all women, my community, and my culture.”

Chaka’s experience includes assignments in the professional and collegiate ranks with stints in the now-defunct XFL, Pac-12 Conference and Conference USA. In 2014, she was picked for the NFL’s Officiating Development Program, which identifies top collegiate officiating talent and exposes them to experiences at the top level to determine if they have the potential to succeed.

“Maia’s years of hard work, dedication and perseverance – including as part of the NFL Officiating Development Program – have earned her a position as an NFL official,” said Troy Vincent Sr., the league’s executive vice president of football operations. “As we celebrate Women’s History Month, Maia is a trailblazer as the first Black female official and inspires us toward normalizing women on the football field.”

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