When David Wyant makes a call, people listen. As a member of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors, the University graduate helps make legislative decisions that affect every citizen in the county.
Wyant is special, though. That's because he doesn't just make laws; every Sunday, he enforces them. On top of being one of six lawmakers for Albemarle County, Wyant works as an NFL referee.
Saturday mornings, Wyant wakes up at 5:30 to catch his flight out of Charlottesville. By mid-morning, he's in the city in which he's scheduled to referee. Come Sunday at midnight -- after a full day of work -- he's back home in White Hall.
Since day one as an NFL referee -- when he was asked to work a game between Mike Ditka's Bears and Don Shula's Dolphins -- Wyant hasn't shied away from the potential magnitude of the penalties he calls. Rather, after more than 300 regular season games, 15 playoff games and two conference championships, he has embraced the importance of his job, earning the respect of his peers through his attention to detail and politeness.
"The first thing I tell the new referees is not to talk back to coaches or players," Wyant said. "If they do speak, I tell them to be polite. It's true in life, too."
The path to professional refereedom, however, hasn't been easy. Forty-two years ago Wyant -- a first-year Engineering student studying civil engineering -- took a job with the recreational department at U.Va. His first assignment was to officiate basketball games for 8- and 9-year-olds. After a short stint refereeing the chaos that is youth sports, Wyant found himself on the varsity football field for local high-school games. For 10 years he worked in Albemarle officiating everything from men's basketball to women's lacrosse.
The civil engineer continued to officiate part-time and slowly rose from an official for rec-league basketball to high-school football, to Division III athletics, to Division I football.
In 1991, after more than 25 years of refereeing, Wyant got his big break. Two days before he was scheduled to work the Copper Bowl in Arizona, he received a telephone call from the head of NFL referees asking him if he would like to join the league as an official.
As if working one job wasn't enough, Wyant took on two.
After a "yes" and one last college football game, Wyant headed to New York City to undergo an extensive screening before being officially labeled an "NFL referee." In fact, Wyant was surprised to learn even after he passed his initial screening that he is continually checked on by the league. Every five years he has to undergo a psychological test, on top of the fact that he is barred from going to Atlantic City or Las Vegas without permission from the NFL.
Amid his rise through the ranks of the referee world, the Virginia alumnus took on a number of auspicious local jobs to help improve Albemarle. He worked as an engineer for the Virginia Department of Transportation, as a consultant, a storeowner and a farmer on his local farm, replete with horses and cows.
Then, in 2004, the Charlottesville native was elected to the Board of Supervisors for Albemarle County, representing the White Hall District. His job includes approving the county budget -- which has an impact on taxes -- as well as managing growth throughout the area. Considering the rapid pace at which Albemarle is growing, smart policy on zoning and planning is crucial to the region's development.
And so, after years of juggling his time on the Board of Supervisors and as an NFL referee, he is still going strong.
Though his term on the Board ends in January, Wyant intends to continue to referee in the NFL, adding to his list of personal experiences with some of football's greatest personalities.
Perhaps most interesting about the multi-hat-wearing Wyant is his continued affection for the University. Despite a list of professional achievements -- at both the football and legislative levels -- Wyant sees his diploma from the University of Virginia as one of his most glowing accomplishments.
Though he didn't fully realize it until he was on a tour of grounds with a group of officials well after his graduation, he said his time at the University was one of the most meaningful experiences of his life.
"I'm proud of my school," Wyant said. "It hit me like a pie in the face one day when I realized what a great place I went to. It [U.Va.] helped me a lot in life."
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