ECAC Announces Donermeyer, Davidson and Richard as 2015 Red Hill Award Recipients
DANBURY, Conn. - The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) has announced Dan Donermeyer, Alex ‘Red’ Davidson and Dan Richard as the 2015 Red Hill Award recipients. The award winners will be honored at this year’s Eastern College Football Awards Banquet, which will be held on Feb. 25 at MetLife Stadium.
The Red Hill Award is named for the former ECAC football official of 29 years. Hill served as the Director of the Eastern Association of Intercollegiate Football Officials (EAIFO) Boston Chapter for a dozen years. He also served as vice president and president of the EAIFO and was responsible for instituting many of the EAIFO policies. Over his career, Hill made numerous contributions to the EAIFO and collegiate football officiating in general. The award has been presented since 1999 and with 43 officials receiving the prestigious award in that time.
Donermeyer began officiating in 1990, and became a member of the Eastern Association of Intercollegiate Football Officials, Western New England Chapter in 1995, and subsequently served as president in 2008. Throughout his career, he has officiated several games between Amherst College and Williams College, dubbed the “Biggest Little Game in America,” in addition to earning numerous ECAC bowl game, NCAA Division III playoff and Division II Quarterfinal assignments.
After being promoted to the DII Northeast 10 Conference in 2010 Donermeyer earned another promotion to the Division I Football Championship Subdivision, where he has officiated for conferences such as Ivy League, Patriot League and Colonial Athletic Association. Donermeyer continues to mentor officials at the collegiate and high school level, and in 2012 received the EAIFO WNE Chapter Mark Karbowski 12th Player Award for exemplified extraordinary efforts to help his fellow officials and the chapter.
Davidson began officiating while still a student, and quickly ascended to the collegiate ranks. Throughout his career, Davidson has officiated contests at the DII and III levels in conferences across New England and the Mid-Atlantic, including numerous postseason assignments.
In the offseason, Davidson can frequently be found attending various officiating clinics in an effort to constantly improve his craft. His commitment to improving is not limited to himself however, as the veteran referee also serves as a mentor to younger officials on his crews.
Richard began officiating high school football in central Massachusetts in 1997, and progressed to the collegiate ranks in 2001 when he began working as an ECAC official. Richard was promoted to the FCS for the 2006 season, working as a Line Judge and Head Linesman for the Atlantic 10, and later the Patriot League, Ivy League and CAA. In 2012, Richard was promoted to the Football Bowl Subdivision where he continues to work as a Head Linesman in the Mid-American Conference in addition to a number of assignments in the Big Ten.
Throughout his career, Richard has officiated many postseason and bowl games, including a 2011 FCS National Semifinal, the 2013 Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl, the 2014 MAC Conference Championship game and the 2015 Miami Beach Bowl. Richard is a past president of the Boston Chapter of the EAIFO, and plays in active role in recruiting, training and developing the next generation of officials.
Click here to purchase tickets for the 2015 Eastern College Football Awards Banquet.
For more information regarding this event, contact Director of Marketing & Communications,Meghan O'Brien at mobrien@ecac.org or 203-745-2890.