The final game of the 2025 college football season kicks off later today, with the Indiana Hoosiers and Miami Hurricanes looking to be crowned champions for the first time in the College Football Playoff era. As the two teams collide, the national championship referees will be tasked with keeping things clean between two physical teams. But who is the officiating crew on Monday?
Michael VanderVelde Heads the CFP National Championship Referees
Big 12 referee Michael VanderVelde will lead the officiating crew Monday night when Indiana faces Miami in the College Football Playoff National Championship at Hard Rock Stadium.
VanderVelde is no stranger to high-stakes games. He has been a Big 12 official since 2020 and previously worked the 2023 and 2024 Rose Bowls, including last year’s semifinal between Michigan and Alabama.
He also refereed the 2023 XFL Championship, where XFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino praised his command: “The best referees that I’ve been around are the ones that are in control of the game, that have that command, that have that presence. Mike just has that.”
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VanderVelde’s path to the national championship game started in the Southland Conference before moving to the Mountain West. A Grandville, Michigan native and Hope College graduate, he comes from officiating royalty, as his father, Mike VanderVelde, officiated in the Grand Rapids area for 61 years.
The full crew working under VanderVelde includes Sheldon Davis, Marvel July, Keith Garmond, Joseph Martinez, JB Garza, Daniel Young, John Braun, and alternate Tutu Salaam. Brad Van Vark handles replay duties.
What VanderVelde’s Tendencies Mean for Indiana and Miami
For fans watching the flags, VanderVelde has called an FBS-average 12.5 penalties per game this season. His crew shows a higher tendency to call offensive penalties over defensive ones, with false starts and holding accounting for 34% of all flags.
Defensive pass interference gets called at a higher rate than the NCAA average during VanderVelde’s games, at 1.54 per contest. Both Indiana and Miami rank in the top 35 nationally in avoiding DPI calls, so that shouldn’t become a major factor.
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False starts could be worth watching. It’s VanderVelde’s most-called penalty at 20% of all flags, averaging 2.5 per game. Both teams have been slightly more prone to false starts than most FBS programs this season.
Former Big Ten referee Bill Lemonnier will serve as ESPN’s rules analyst on the main broadcast, while former SEC official Matt Austin handles officiating insight for ESPN Radio.
VanderVelde’s crew worked the Orange Bowl semifinal, where Indiana punched its ticket to Monday’s title game. Now he gets the biggest assignment of his career, calling the game that will crown either the first 16-0 team in the CFP era or give Miami its first national championship since 2001.
