Georgetown mayor inducted into national hall of fame for sports officiating career

Mayor of Georgetown Burney Jenkins was inducted into the National Federation of State High School Associations Hall of Fame on Monday.

Jenkins has been involved in Kentucky high school athletics for 50 years, in roles ranging from coach to official. He’s now the 12th Kentuckian inducted into the Hall of Fame. Kentucky High School Athletic Association Commissioner Julian Tackett wrote the nomination.

“You start looking at just the volume of things that he had done — it was really a no-brainer for us to get him nominated,” Tackett said.

A good referee is someone fans don’t even realize is out there, Tackett said. They blend into the game as structural support.

“You are not the show,” Tackett said. “You are a part of the support element of the show needed to be done.”

That is not always the case, however. Oftentimes, one decision by an official will leave half a stadium upset, Tackett said. Jenkins had the ability to keep cool in those situations.

Tackett also knows Jenkins as a friend and described him as someone who took the time to develop relationships with coaches and players as an official. He was a “cut above,” as Tackett described, using his talents in officiating to make himself and others better.

“He’s been chosen as one of the ones to be the best of the best, and it makes some people’s ego swell a little bit,” Tackett said. “I really don’t think it did with him.”

Jenkins got into officiating as a way to make some extra money on the side while he attended Georgetown College as an undergraduate student in 1973. That decision became an aspect of his career that has lasted until this day.

The resume Tackett provided for Jenkins spans five pages, listing community and civic work, officiating work in six sports and his professional work history as a teacher, coach, athletic director, mayor and more.

“Burney is still a contributor to society, period,” Tackett said.

Jenkins officiated football high school football from 1976-2022. He officiated state playoff games for 34 years, including six state football finals, three of which he refereed. Jenkins also has officiated college football from 1983 to the present, spending 38 years making calls for the Ohio Valley Conference.

Other accolades include officiating the 2009 NCAA FCS national championship game and serving as a replacement official for an NFL game in 2001.

Jenkins’ football career was not limited to just officiating, though. He served as the head football coach at Georgetown Middle School from 1976-2004 and the school’s athletic director from 1996-2004.

Jenkins officiated basketball games from 1973-2022. He officiated five high school state tournament finals, eight regional finals, 15 AAU state championships and more. He also spent more than 30 years officiating at the collegiate level for the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic/River States Conference, Ohio Valley Conference and Lakes Valley Conference, as well as the men’s basketball NAIA Tournament.

Jenkins also spent time as the coach of the Scott County High School freshman basketball team from 1976-81.

Outside of football and basketball, Jenkins officiated baseball, soccer, volleyball and men’s fast-pitch and slow-pitch softball.

“He has shown that, as an official, you are an integral part of the game, but you are not the game,” Tackett said.

Since being sworn in as Georgetown mayor in 2022, Jenkins’ time officiating has decreased, but Tackett said Jenkins is applying the same skills. People will disagree with sports officials and those in elected office, Tackett said.

Jenkins has the ability to respond rather than react, something Tackett said he’s garnered through his time officiating.

“You’re not in a station where you’ve come up through a pipeline of everybody telling you how good you are,” Tackett said. “You’ve been challenged almost every time you blow a whistle.”

Jenkins will be seeking reelection in November, with a high school officiating career that has now been cemented in a national Hall of Fame.