Ed Hochuli
Encyclopedia
Edward G. Hochuli is an attorney
for the firm of Jones, Skelton & Hochuli, P.L.C. since 1983, and better known as an American football
official
in the National Football League
(NFL) since the 1990 NFL season
. His uniform number is 85. Prior to his officiating career, he played college football
for four seasons at the University of Texas at El Paso
(UTEP).
Hochuli is one of the most respected officials in the NFL, having worked numerous playoff games, including two Super Bowl
s. He is also known for his athletic physique and explanations on the football field. In a poll
conducted by ESPN
in 2008, Hochuli tied referee Mike Carey for "best referee" votes among NFL head coach
es with eight. Beginning his twenty-second season in the league and twentieth as referee (crew chief) with the 2011 NFL season
, Hochuli's officiating crew consists of umpire Rich Hall, head linesman Mark Hittner
, line judge Adrian Hill, field judge Craig Wrolstad, side judge Ronald Torbert and back judge Don Carey
.
, and lived there until age eight before his family moved to Tucson, Arizona
. He was the second child born out of a total of six sibling
s. During his childhood, he attended and later graduated from Canyon del Oro High School
in the Tucson suburb
of Oro Valley, Arizona
in 1969. During his high school years, he had an interest in sports as he participated in football (earning all-state honors twice), basketball
, wrestling
, and track
. He attributes his competitive nature to having an older brother, Chip Hochuli. Ed Hochuli told Referee in a 2004 interview, "I was somebody who wanted to be good and I wanted my brother to be proud of me, and I wanted my parents to be proud of me." Following high school, he earned his Bachelor of Arts
degree
with honors from UTEP in 1972. While at UTEP, Hochuli played linebacker
on the school's football team from 1969 to 1972. As a football player, he earned All-Western Athletic Conference
academic honors in 1972. His father, Walter Hochuli, was involved with law as a wills
and estate
planner, which influenced Ed Hochuli to pursue a career in law. He earned his Juris Doctor
from the University of Arizona
in 1976. At the University of Arizona Law School, Hochuli served as a law clerk for two years under United States District Judge Carl Muecke. Upon completion of his education, Hochuli was admitted to the State Bar of Arizona
.
. He has a total of six children and ten grandchildren. He and his wife Cathie reside in Arizona. Of the six kids, Shawn Hochuli played college football
at Pomona College
and is following his father's profession as an official, currently working college football, Arena Football League, and arenafootball2
games - on August 13, 2011, a day after his father refereed a preseason game between the New England Patriots
and Jacksonville Jaguars
, Shawn was head referee for ArenaBowl XXIV
between the Jacksonville Sharks
and Arizona Rattlers
. Scott Hochuli owns Hochuli Construction Team L.L.C., a company that specializes in residential construction in the Phoenix area. Two of Ed Hochuli's brothers are in law.
He is admitted to practice in Arizona state and federal courts and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
. His recognition as an attorney includes being named Best Lawyers in America since 2003 and Southwest Super Lawyers in 2007. Super Lawyers includes only the top five percent of lawyers in a state based on point totals, as chosen by peers
and through independent research by Law & Politics.
Comparing his law and officiating professions, he says "A trial is nothing, pressure-wise, compared to the NFL. … I have that long [snaps his fingers] to make a decision with a million people watching and second-guessing (by video) in slow-motion. You've got to be right or wrong. I love the satisfaction when you are right — and the agony when you are wrong." Hochuli finds similarities between the football field and courtroom saying, "On the football field, people like that I'm in charge and know what I'm doing, but a lot of the time, it's just appearance. I'm going to sell you on my decision. It's the same in the courtroom. You don't stand in front of a jury and say, 'I think my client is innocent.' You say, 'We're right!'"
football games as a law student to earn additional income, which was suggested by one of his former high school coaches as "a way to stay in touch with the game". His interest in officiating carried over into baseball
, where he was a Little League Baseball umpire
from 1970 to 1973. Progressing to the high school level in 1973, he focused on football, and officiated games in the Tucson area until 1985. In addition to high school officiating, he worked college football games for the Big Sky Conference
and Pacific-10 Conference as a line judge during the 1980s.
. His first game in the league was on August 11, 1990 at Lambeau Field
in Green Bay, Wisconsin
. During his first two years in the league, he was assigned to the officiating crew headed by referee Howard Roe. To gain additional experience as a back judge and eventually a referee, Hochuli participated in the NFL's partnership with the World League of American Football
(WLAF), a spring developmental league, in 1991 and 1992. Utilizing his experience in the WLAF, as well as the organization, precision, and analytical skills he learned while working under Roe's guidance, Hochuli desired to become a crew chief in the NFL. He was promoted to referee in 1992 when longtime referee Stan Kemp was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's Disease and forced to retire. Hochuli had worked a pre-season
game that year in Tokyo, Japan as a back judge when he received a telephone call following the game from then-Senior Director of Officiating, Jerry Seeman
. Seeman asked Hochuli to work as referee for the first time when the Denver Broncos
hosted the Cincinnati Bengals
in a pre-season game.
Since becoming a referee, Hochuli headed the officiating crews for Super Bowl XXXII
and Super Bowl XXXVIII
, and he was selected as an alternate for Super Bowl XXXI
, Super Bowl XXXVII
, and Super Bowl XXXIX
. In addition to working two Super Bowls, he has officiated five conference championship games as of the start of the 2007 NFL season
. Every officiating game performance is graded by the league each week. These grades determine which officials are assigned playoff games, as well as the Super Bowl. Hochuli credits his mentor
, Jerry Markbreit
, a four-time Super Bowl referee, as the greatest influence on his career.
. At the time, salaries ranged from a first-year official earning US$1,431 a game to a veteran official with twenty years of experience making $4,330 a game. Officials were looking for a 400 percent increase in salary while the league was offering just 40 percent. During the negotiations, Hochuli believed the issue in finding a resolution was to convince the league that officials are full-time employees.
At the start of the season, officials had rejected a league offer of a sixty percent immediate increase in salary, followed by an eighty-five percent salary increase in 2002, and a one-hundred percent increase in 2003. For the first time in league history, replacement officials were used during the regular season. Hochuli had distributed an e-mail
to 1,200 potential replacement officials warning them that "Working as a scab will actually hurt and likely kill any chances you would have of ever getting into the NFL." He later regretted sending the letter to college football officials across the United States. The stalemate between the union and the league ended on September 19, 2001, when officials agreed to a six-year deal from the league with an immediate increase in salary of 50 percent with a raise each year. Officials had been locked out
since the final week of pre-season games that year and returned to work on September 23, 2001 when the league resumed games following the September 11, 2001 attacks
.
Day game between the Dallas Cowboys
and Miami Dolphins
in Irving, Texas
. During the final moments of the game, Miami placekicker
Pete Stoyanovich
had a field goal
attempt blocked. The Cowboys' Leon Lett
inadvertently touched the loose ball before the Dolphins' Jeff Dellenbach
pounced on it. At the time, Hochuli had "no idea" what happened during the play and had to confer with three other officials to piece together the sequence of events. With the information gathered from the officials, he ruled that Miami retained possession of the football.
On October 2, 2005, he officiated the first regular season NFL game played outside the United States when the Arizona Cardinals
played the San Francisco 49ers
in Mexico City
, Mexico
as part of the league's "Fútbol Americano
" marketing campaign. On the first penalty announcement of the game, Hochuli gave the explanation in Spanish to pay respect to the host city and country.
He was the referee for the game between the Detroit Lions
and Green Bay Packers
, played December 17, 2006, that included Green Bay quarterback
Brett Favre
becoming the all-time leader for pass completions among quarterbacks in the NFL. Favre was unaware that his 4,968 pass completions were a record until he was informed during the game by Hochuli. Hochuli was the referee again for another Favre record-breaking moment when Favre threw his 421st touchdown pass of his career on September 30, 2007 at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
in Minneapolis, Minnesota
to break the record previously held by Dan Marino
.
One of Hochuli's notable explanations came during a 2007 regular season game between the San Diego Chargers
and New England Patriots
. While nullifying a holding infraction, he announced through his microphone
, "There was no foul on the play. It was not a hold. The defender was just overpowered."
On September 14, 2008, Hochuli officiated a now-infamous game between the San Diego Chargers
and the Denver Broncos
, which become notable for a highly controversial call near the end of regulation play. The call came with 1:17 left in the game, while Denver was in possession of the ball at the San Diego one-yard line, trailing the Chargers by seven points. On a second-down play, Denver quarterback Jay Cutler
fumbled the ball, and it was recovered by San Diego linebacker Tim Dobbins
. Ed Hochuli blew his whistle during the play, signaling that the play was dead and ruling an incomplete pass
. Hochuli admitted his mistake and spotted the ball at the point of the fumble, but could not award possession to San Diego, and the play was not reviewable under instant replay
rules. Chargers head coach Norv Turner
later said after the game, "Ed came over to me and said he blew it. And that to me is not acceptable." Hochuli responded to the situation, writing, "Affecting the outcome of a game is a devastating feeling. Officials strive for perfection – I failed miserably."
Dallas Cowboys
owner Jerry Jones
was even fined $25,000 for publicly criticizing Hochuli. The NFL passed a rule the following offseason allowing such plays to be reviewable under the instant replay rule for the 2009 NFL season
. Speaking to Referee in November 2009, Hochuli told the magazine, "It was really an easy play. I’ve thought many times why I did what I did. The best explanation is it was almost like dyslexia. I realized it was a fumble and did the wrong thing. I realized I was wrong but there was nothing I could do about it."
On December 5, 2010 at Ford Field
in Detroit, Hochuli made a controversial call during a game between the Chicago Bears
and the Detroit Lions
. It came in the fourth quarter with 9:06 left, while the Bears had the ball at the Lions 22-yard line, trailing 17-20. On first down, Chicago quarterback Jay Cutler
scrambled for an 8-yard gain to the 14, where he was hit by Detroit defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh
, who applied a hard, two-handed shove to the upper back. The referee then flagged Suh for unnecessary roughness, ruling that Suh delivered an illegal forearm, "an unnecessary non-football act". The Bears would then score the winning touchdown one play later. After the game, Lions coach Jim Schwartz
disagreed with the call, questioning what else could have Suh had done differently. Several Detroit players also disagreed with the call, with receiver Calvin Johnson
saying that Suh "didn’t go to the elbow. It’s obviously a push, a push down." Former NFL Vice President of Officiating and current Fox Sports
analyst Mike Pereira
wrote that, "It's a judgment call and one you have to live with. Player safety is [currently] a huge issue, and there will continue to be an emphasis by the officials to protect all players." Rich McKay
, President of the Atlanta Falcons
and co-chairman of the NFL Competition Committee, acknowledged that, "At full speed, you can see where (Hochuli) saw at least what he saw ... Player safety is always going to be at the forefront (for) these officials. I'm not one that's going to sit here and say right call or wrong call ... And what Ed Hochuli saw and what he called ... he thought he saw it, and he called it that way." The league fined Suh $15,000 for the hit, although he appealed that decision.
following. His rise in popularity is believed to have been started by Phil Simms
, a former NFL quarterback and current color commentator
for the NFL on CBS
, who made reference to the size of Hochuli's arms during a telecast. On the Internet, websites that sell Hochuli merchandise as well as blog
s with his namesake
exist. He is often affectionately referred to as "Hochules", a combination of his last name and "Hercules
", in homage to his large biceps. While he is aware of his celebrity status, Hochuli does not understand it. He said in a USA Today
interview, "I get a kick out of the notoriety, because I'm just a referee. I'm not the players. The players are the game. They're what this is all about. I get notoriety because I explain things, and I get notoriety because I have a decent physique, which is funny because I'm a shrimp, a peewee compared to those players. Neither one of those things has anything to do with whether I'm a good referee." His recognition stems to the streets, in airports, and in the courtroom. He has been approached by notable athletes such as former National Basketball Association
(NBA) player Charles Barkley
at the airport. "It never ceases to amaze me," Hochuli told the Arizona Daily Star
. "The number of people that will just come up to me and recognize me." He appreciates the notoriety, saying, "I enjoy the fact that there are people who like me as a referee. I hear from a lot of people and I enjoy that. Like anybody, I like praise. Probably because of my personality, I thrive on that more than other people."
Hochuli's career as an NFL official has been chronicled on the NFL Network
's Six Days to Sunday in 2005. The half-hour television program
detailed the game preparations that Hochuli goes through from Monday to Saturday during the season. This preparation work includes fifteen hours of video tape game review, a "couple hours" completing administrative tasks for the NFL, reading the rulebook, taking a weekly written exam on rules
, and communicating with league supervisors.
Hochuli's celebrity status off the field includes being mentioned on the "Top Ten List" during the January 29, 2002 edition of the Late Show with David Letterman
. His likeness appears in the Madden NFL
video game franchise starting with Madden NFL 06
.
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
for the firm of Jones, Skelton & Hochuli, P.L.C. since 1983, and better known as an American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
official
Official (American football)
In American football, an official is a person who has responsibility in enforcing the rules and maintaining the order of the game.During professional and college football games, seven officials operate on the field...
in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL) since the 1990 NFL season
1990 NFL season
The 1990 NFL season was the 71st regular season of the National Football League. To increase revenue, the league changed the regular season so that all NFL teams would play their 16-game schedule over a 17-week period...
. His uniform number is 85. Prior to his officiating career, he played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
for four seasons at the University of Texas at El Paso
University of Texas at El Paso
The University of Texas at El Paso is a four-year state university, and is a component institution of the University of Texas System. Its campus is located on the bank of the Rio Grande in El Paso, Texas. The school was founded in 1914 as The Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy,...
(UTEP).
Hochuli is one of the most respected officials in the NFL, having worked numerous playoff games, including two Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
s. He is also known for his athletic physique and explanations on the football field. In a poll
Opinion poll
An opinion poll, sometimes simply referred to as a poll is a survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence...
conducted by ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
in 2008, Hochuli tied referee Mike Carey for "best referee" votes among NFL head coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
es with eight. Beginning his twenty-second season in the league and twentieth as referee (crew chief) with the 2011 NFL season
2011 NFL season
The 2011 NFL season, the 92nd regular season of the National Football League, began on Thursday, September 8, 2011 with the Super Bowl XLV champion Green Bay Packers defeating the New Orleans Saints 42–34 at Lambeau Field and will end with Super Bowl XLVI, the league's championship game, on...
, Hochuli's officiating crew consists of umpire Rich Hall, head linesman Mark Hittner
Mark Hittner
Mark Hittner is an American football official in the National Football League since the beginning of the 1997 NFL season. He works as a head linesman and wears the uniform number 28...
, line judge Adrian Hill, field judge Craig Wrolstad, side judge Ronald Torbert and back judge Don Carey
Don Carey (official)
Don Carey is an official in the National Football League, who wears uniform number 126. He entered the NFL's officiating staff in 1995 as a field judge until 1998, where he became a back judge due to the NFL swapping position titles that season; he held that position until 2008-09...
.
Early life
Hochuli was born on December 25, 1950 in Milwaukee, WisconsinWisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, and lived there until age eight before his family moved to Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
. He was the second child born out of a total of six sibling
Sibling
Siblings are people who share at least one parent. A male sibling is called a brother; and a female sibling is called a sister. In most societies throughout the world, siblings usually grow up together and spend a good deal of their childhood socializing with one another...
s. During his childhood, he attended and later graduated from Canyon del Oro High School
Canyon del Oro High School
Canyon del Oro High School, also known as CDO, is a comprehensive public high school in Oro Valley, Arizona, located north of Tucson at the base of Pusch Ridge. Established as a high school in 1964, CDO is one of three high schools of Amphitheater Public Schools and serves about 1,800 students in...
in the Tucson suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Oro Valley, Arizona
Oro Valley, Arizona
Oro Valley, incorporated in 1974, is a suburban town located north of Tucson, Arizona, USA in Pima County. According to a July 2008 estimate, the population of the town is 43,223, an increase from 29,700 in 2000 Oro Valley, incorporated in 1974, is a suburban town located north of Tucson,...
in 1969. During his high school years, he had an interest in sports as he participated in football (earning all-state honors twice), basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
, and track
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
. He attributes his competitive nature to having an older brother, Chip Hochuli. Ed Hochuli told Referee in a 2004 interview, "I was somebody who wanted to be good and I wanted my brother to be proud of me, and I wanted my parents to be proud of me." Following high school, he earned his Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
with honors from UTEP in 1972. While at UTEP, Hochuli played linebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
on the school's football team from 1969 to 1972. As a football player, he earned All-Western Athletic Conference
Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference is an American collegiate athletic conference, which was formed on July 27, 1962, making it the sixth oldest of the 11 college athletic conferences currently participating in the NCAA's Division I FBS...
academic honors in 1972. His father, Walter Hochuli, was involved with law as a wills
Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
and estate
Estate (law)
An estate is the net worth of a person at any point in time. It is the sum of a person's assets - legal rights, interests and entitlements to property of any kind - less all liabilities at that time. The issue is of special legal significance on a question of bankruptcy and death of the person...
planner, which influenced Ed Hochuli to pursue a career in law. He earned his Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
from the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
in 1976. At the University of Arizona Law School, Hochuli served as a law clerk for two years under United States District Judge Carl Muecke. Upon completion of his education, Hochuli was admitted to the State Bar of Arizona
State Bar of Arizona
The State Bar of Arizona regulates the practice of law in Arizona. It licenses lawyers and establishes procedures for the discipline of misconduct by lawyers....
.
Family
Hochuli resides in the Phoenix metropolitan areaPhoenix Metropolitan Area
The Phoenix metropolitan area, often referred to as The Valley of the Sun, is a metropolitan area, centered on the city of Phoenix, that includes much of the central part of the US state of Arizona...
. He has a total of six children and ten grandchildren. He and his wife Cathie reside in Arizona. Of the six kids, Shawn Hochuli played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Pomona College
Pomona College
Pomona College is a private, residential, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. Founded in 1887 in Pomona, California by a group of Congregationalists, the college moved to Claremont in 1889 to the site of a hotel, retaining its name. The school enrolls 1,548 students.The founding member...
and is following his father's profession as an official, currently working college football, Arena Football League, and arenafootball2
Af2
AF2 was the name of the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football rules and style of play. League seasons ran from April through July with the postseason and ArenaCup...
games - on August 13, 2011, a day after his father refereed a preseason game between the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
and Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Shawn was head referee for ArenaBowl XXIV
ArenaBowl XXIV
ArenaBowl XXIV was the 24th edition of the championship in the Arena Football League. The American Conference champion, Jacksonville Sharks, defeated the National Conference champion, Arizona Rattlers, 73–70. It was played on August 12, 2011...
between the Jacksonville Sharks
Jacksonville Sharks
The Jacksonville Sharks were a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. They competed for part of the 1974 season in the World Football League, a failed attempt to launch a major professional football league in the United States in competition with the National Football...
and Arizona Rattlers
Arizona Rattlers
The Arizona Rattlers are a professional arena football team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Conference in the Arena Football League . The Rattlers were founded in 1992 as an expansion team. They play their home games at US Airways Center...
. Scott Hochuli owns Hochuli Construction Team L.L.C., a company that specializes in residential construction in the Phoenix area. Two of Ed Hochuli's brothers are in law.
Attorney
Hochuli is a trial lawyer and a partner in the Arizona law firm of Jones, Skelton and Hochuli, P.L.C. since it was founded in 1983. The firm started with five partners and seven associates, and has expanded to over eighty attorneys. Hochuli specializes in civil litigation in the areas of Bad Faith and Extra-Contractual Liability, Complex Litigation, Insurance Coverage and Fraud, Legal Malpractice and Professional Liability, Product Liability Defense, Trucking and Transportation Industry Defense, and Wrongful Death and Personal Injury Defense, and claims to be involved in two hundred cases at any time. Hochuli finds interest in trying cases, calling it an "adrenaline rush" and adding, "You love that challenge -- the competition, if you will -- of it. It's a game. It's obviously a very important game to people, and I don't mean to diminish the importance of it. ... You have to follow these rules, and there's a win-or-lose outcome. You're on a stage."He is admitted to practice in Arizona state and federal courts and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...
. His recognition as an attorney includes being named Best Lawyers in America since 2003 and Southwest Super Lawyers in 2007. Super Lawyers includes only the top five percent of lawyers in a state based on point totals, as chosen by peers
Peer group
A peer group is a social group consisting of humans. Peer groups are an informal primary group of people who share a similar or equal status and who are usually of roughly the same age, tended to travel around and interact within the social aggregate Members of a particular peer group often have...
and through independent research by Law & Politics.
Comparing his law and officiating professions, he says "A trial is nothing, pressure-wise, compared to the NFL. … I have that long [snaps his fingers] to make a decision with a million people watching and second-guessing (by video) in slow-motion. You've got to be right or wrong. I love the satisfaction when you are right — and the agony when you are wrong." Hochuli finds similarities between the football field and courtroom saying, "On the football field, people like that I'm in charge and know what I'm doing, but a lot of the time, it's just appearance. I'm going to sell you on my decision. It's the same in the courtroom. You don't stand in front of a jury and say, 'I think my client is innocent.' You say, 'We're right!'"
Early years
Hochuli began officiating Pop WarnerPop Warner Little Scholars
Pop Warner Little Scholars is a non-profit organization that provides youth football, cheerleading, and dance programs for participants in 43 U.S. states and several countries around the world. It is headquartered in Langhorne, Pennsylvania...
football games as a law student to earn additional income, which was suggested by one of his former high school coaches as "a way to stay in touch with the game". His interest in officiating carried over into baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, where he was a Little League Baseball umpire
Umpire (baseball)
In baseball, the umpire is the person charged with officiating the game, including beginning and ending the game, enforcing the rules of the game and the grounds, making judgment calls on plays, and handling the disciplinary actions. The term is often shortened to the colloquial form ump...
from 1970 to 1973. Progressing to the high school level in 1973, he focused on football, and officiated games in the Tucson area until 1985. In addition to high school officiating, he worked college football games for the Big Sky Conference
Big Sky Conference
The Big Sky Conference is an intercollegiate college athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I, with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. The BSC was founded in 1963. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the states of Arizona,...
and Pacific-10 Conference as a line judge during the 1980s.
Rise to refereedom
Hochuli was hired by the NFL in 1990 as a back judge after applying to the league before the 1989 NFL season1989 NFL season
The 1989 NFL season was the 70th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle announced his retirement...
. His first game in the league was on August 11, 1990 at Lambeau Field
Lambeau Field
Lambeau Field is an outdoor football stadium in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the home of the NFL's Green Bay Packers. Opened in 1957 as City Stadium, it replaced the original City Stadium as the Packers' home field...
in Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...
. During his first two years in the league, he was assigned to the officiating crew headed by referee Howard Roe. To gain additional experience as a back judge and eventually a referee, Hochuli participated in the NFL's partnership with the World League of American Football
World League of American Football
The World League of American Football was founded in 1990 with support from the National Football League to play professional American football in North America, Europe and later possibly Asia...
(WLAF), a spring developmental league, in 1991 and 1992. Utilizing his experience in the WLAF, as well as the organization, precision, and analytical skills he learned while working under Roe's guidance, Hochuli desired to become a crew chief in the NFL. He was promoted to referee in 1992 when longtime referee Stan Kemp was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's Disease and forced to retire. Hochuli had worked a pre-season
National Football League exhibition season
The National Football League preseason refers to the period each year during which NFL teams play several not-for-the-record exhibition games before the actual "championship" or "regular" season starts. Beginning with the featured Pro Football Hall of Fame game in early August, five weekends of...
game that year in Tokyo, Japan as a back judge when he received a telephone call following the game from then-Senior Director of Officiating, Jerry Seeman
Jerry Seeman
Jerry Seeman was an American football official in the National Football League from 1975 to 1990 and was the NFL's Senior Director of Officiating from 1991 to 2001, succeeding Art McNally...
. Seeman asked Hochuli to work as referee for the first time when the Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
hosted the Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
in a pre-season game.
Since becoming a referee, Hochuli headed the officiating crews for Super Bowl XXXII
Super Bowl XXXII
Super Bowl XXXII was an American football game played on January 25, 1998 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1997 regular season...
and Super Bowl XXXVIII
Super Bowl XXXVIII
Super Bowl XXXVIII was an American football game played on February 1, 2004 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas to decide the National Football League champion following the 2003 regular season....
, and he was selected as an alternate for Super Bowl XXXI
Super Bowl XXXI
Super Bowl XXXI was an American football game played on January 26, 1997, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1996 regular season. The National Football Conference champion Green Bay Packers defeated the American...
, Super Bowl XXXVII
Super Bowl XXXVII
Super Bowl XXXVII was an American football game played on January 26, 2003 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 2002 regular season...
, and Super Bowl XXXIX
Super Bowl XXXIX
Super Bowl XXXIX was an American football game played on February 6, 2005, at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, to decide the National Football League champion following the 2004 regular season...
. In addition to working two Super Bowls, he has officiated five conference championship games as of the start of the 2007 NFL season
2007 NFL season
The 2007 NFL season was the 88th regular season of the National Football League.Regular-season play was held from September 6 to December 30....
. Every officiating game performance is graded by the league each week. These grades determine which officials are assigned playoff games, as well as the Super Bowl. Hochuli credits his mentor
Mentor
In Greek mythology, Mentor was the son of Alcimus or Anchialus. In his old age Mentor was a friend of Odysseus who placed Mentor and Odysseus' foster-brother Eumaeus in charge of his son Telemachus, and of Odysseus' palace, when Odysseus left for the Trojan War.When Athena visited Telemachus she...
, Jerry Markbreit
Jerry Markbreit
Jerry Markbreit is a former American football referee in the National Football League for 23 seasons and became one of the most recognizable referees in the game. Markbreit officiated football games for 43 seasons. From 1965 to 1975, Markbreit officiated college football games in the Big Ten...
, a four-time Super Bowl referee, as the greatest influence on his career.
Officials' strike
Hochuli has served as the head of the NFL Referees Association, the union which represents NFL game officials. The union was responsible for negotiating a new contract for the officials prior to the 2001 NFL season2001 NFL season
The 2001 NFL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Football League.Following a pattern set in 1999, the first week of the season was permanently moved to the weekend following Labor Day...
. At the time, salaries ranged from a first-year official earning US$1,431 a game to a veteran official with twenty years of experience making $4,330 a game. Officials were looking for a 400 percent increase in salary while the league was offering just 40 percent. During the negotiations, Hochuli believed the issue in finding a resolution was to convince the league that officials are full-time employees.
At the start of the season, officials had rejected a league offer of a sixty percent immediate increase in salary, followed by an eighty-five percent salary increase in 2002, and a one-hundred percent increase in 2003. For the first time in league history, replacement officials were used during the regular season. Hochuli had distributed an e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
to 1,200 potential replacement officials warning them that "Working as a scab will actually hurt and likely kill any chances you would have of ever getting into the NFL." He later regretted sending the letter to college football officials across the United States. The stalemate between the union and the league ended on September 19, 2001, when officials agreed to a six-year deal from the league with an immediate increase in salary of 50 percent with a raise each year. Officials had been locked out
Lockout (industry)
A lockout is a work stoppage in which an employer prevents employees from working. This is different from a strike, in which employees refuse to work.- Causes :...
since the final week of pre-season games that year and returned to work on September 23, 2001 when the league resumed games following the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
.
Notable games
Hochuli has worked memorable games throughout his career. In his second year as referee, he worked the 1993 ThanksgivingThanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
Day game between the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
and Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in Irving, Texas
Irving, Texas
Irving is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within Dallas County. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city population was 216,290. Irving is within the Dallas–Plano–Irving metropolitan division of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area, designated...
. During the final moments of the game, Miami placekicker
Placekicker
Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...
Pete Stoyanovich
Pete Stoyanovich
Peter Stoyanovich and is an American football placekicker of Macedonian descent who played with the Miami Dolphins, Kansas City Chiefs and briefly the St. Louis Rams in the NFL. He attended college at Indiana University.A first-team all-pro in 1992, Stoyanovich finished his career in the top 35 in...
had a field goal
Field goal (football)
A field goal in American football and Canadian football is a goal that may be scored during general play . Field goals may be scored by a placekick or the now practically extinct drop kick.The drop kick fell out of favor in 1934 when the shape of the ball was changed...
attempt blocked. The Cowboys' Leon Lett
Leon Lett
Leon Lett, Jr. , nicknamed The Big Cat, is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League who played for the Dallas Cowboys and the Denver Broncos , after playing college football at Emporia State University. Lett was a two-time Pro Bowler, with selections in 1994 and...
inadvertently touched the loose ball before the Dolphins' Jeff Dellenbach
Jeff Dellenbach
Jeffrey Alan Dellenbach is a former American football center in the National Football League for the Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers, and the Philadelphia Eagles. He was a member of the Green Bay Packers when they won Super Bowl XXXI...
pounced on it. At the time, Hochuli had "no idea" what happened during the play and had to confer with three other officials to piece together the sequence of events. With the information gathered from the officials, he ruled that Miami retained possession of the football.
On October 2, 2005, he officiated the first regular season NFL game played outside the United States when the Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
played the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
as part of the league's "Fútbol Americano
Fútbol Americano
"Fútbol Americano" was the marketing name used for the first-ever National Football League regular season game ever held outside the United States. Played on October 2, 2005 at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, the Arizona Cardinals defeated the San Francisco 49ers, 31-14...
" marketing campaign. On the first penalty announcement of the game, Hochuli gave the explanation in Spanish to pay respect to the host city and country.
He was the referee for the game between the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
and Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
, played December 17, 2006, that included Green Bay quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
Brett Favre
Brett Favre
Brett Lorenzo Favre is a former American football quarterback who spent the majority of his career with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . He was a 20-year veteran of the NFL, having played quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons , Green Bay Packers , New York Jets and Minnesota...
becoming the all-time leader for pass completions among quarterbacks in the NFL. Favre was unaware that his 4,968 pass completions were a record until he was informed during the game by Hochuli. Hochuli was the referee again for another Favre record-breaking moment when Favre threw his 421st touchdown pass of his career on September 30, 2007 at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, commonly called the Metrodome, is a domed sports stadium in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Opened in 1982, it replaced Metropolitan Stadium, which was on the current site of the Mall of America in Bloomington and Memorial Stadium on the University...
in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
to break the record previously held by Dan Marino
Dan Marino
Daniel Constantine "Dan" Marino, Jr. is a retired American football quarterback who played for the Miami Dolphins in the National Football League...
.
One of Hochuli's notable explanations came during a 2007 regular season game between the San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
. While nullifying a holding infraction, he announced through his microphone
Microphone
A microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...
, "There was no foul on the play. It was not a hold. The defender was just overpowered."
Controversial calls
On September 14, 2008, Hochuli officiated a now-infamous game between the San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and the Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, which become notable for a highly controversial call near the end of regulation play. The call came with 1:17 left in the game, while Denver was in possession of the ball at the San Diego one-yard line, trailing the Chargers by seven points. On a second-down play, Denver quarterback Jay Cutler
Jay Cutler (American football)
Jay Christopher Cutler is a quarterback for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He played football at Vanderbilt University. Cutler began his professional football career with the Denver Broncos, who selected him as the 11th overall pick of the 2006 NFL Draft...
fumbled the ball, and it was recovered by San Diego linebacker Tim Dobbins
Tim Dobbins
Timothy L. Dobbins , an American football linebacker, signed with the Houston Texans of the National Football League in August 2011. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL Draft as an inside linebacker for their 3/4 scheme...
. Ed Hochuli blew his whistle during the play, signaling that the play was dead and ruling an incomplete pass
Incomplete pass
An incomplete pass is a term in American football which means that a legal forward pass hits the ground before a player on either team gains possession. For example, if the quarterback throws the ball to one of his wide receivers, and the receiver either does not touch it or tries to catch it...
. Hochuli admitted his mistake and spotted the ball at the point of the fumble, but could not award possession to San Diego, and the play was not reviewable under instant replay
Instant replay in American football
In American and Canadian football, instant replay is a method of reviewing a play using cameras at various angles to determine the accuracy of the initial call of the officials...
rules. Chargers head coach Norv Turner
Norv Turner
Norval Eugene Turner is the head coach for the National Football League's San Diego Chargers. He also has served as head coach of the Washington Redskins and the Oakland Raiders, and as offensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys, San Diego Chargers, Miami Dolphins, and San Francisco 49ers...
later said after the game, "Ed came over to me and said he blew it. And that to me is not acceptable." Hochuli responded to the situation, writing, "Affecting the outcome of a game is a devastating feeling. Officials strive for perfection – I failed miserably."
Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
owner Jerry Jones
Jerry Jones
Jerral "Jerry" Wayne Jones is the owner and general manager of the NFL team, the Dallas Cowboys.-Early life:Jones was born in Los Angeles, California. His family moved to North Little Rock, Arkansas when he was an infant. Jones was a star running back at North Little Rock High School...
was even fined $25,000 for publicly criticizing Hochuli. The NFL passed a rule the following offseason allowing such plays to be reviewable under the instant replay rule for the 2009 NFL season
2009 NFL season
The 2009 NFL season was the 90th regular season of the National Football League.The preseason started with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on August 9, 2009, and the regular season began September 10. The season ended with Super Bowl XLIV, the league's championship game, on February 7, 2010 at...
. Speaking to Referee in November 2009, Hochuli told the magazine, "It was really an easy play. I’ve thought many times why I did what I did. The best explanation is it was almost like dyslexia. I realized it was a fumble and did the wrong thing. I realized I was wrong but there was nothing I could do about it."
On December 5, 2010 at Ford Field
Ford Field
Ford Field is an indoor American football stadium located in Detroit, Michigan, USA, that is the current home field of the NFL's Detroit Lions. It is owned by the Detroit/Wayne County Stadium Authority. It regularly seats 65,000, though it is expandable up to 70,000 for football and 80,000 for...
in Detroit, Hochuli made a controversial call during a game between the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
. It came in the fourth quarter with 9:06 left, while the Bears had the ball at the Lions 22-yard line, trailing 17-20. On first down, Chicago quarterback Jay Cutler
Jay Cutler (American football)
Jay Christopher Cutler is a quarterback for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He played football at Vanderbilt University. Cutler began his professional football career with the Denver Broncos, who selected him as the 11th overall pick of the 2006 NFL Draft...
scrambled for an 8-yard gain to the 14, where he was hit by Detroit defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh
Ndamukong Suh
Ndamukong Suh is an American football defensive tackle for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Lions 2nd overall in the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at Nebraska....
, who applied a hard, two-handed shove to the upper back. The referee then flagged Suh for unnecessary roughness, ruling that Suh delivered an illegal forearm, "an unnecessary non-football act". The Bears would then score the winning touchdown one play later. After the game, Lions coach Jim Schwartz
Jim Schwartz
Jim Schwartz is an American football head coach for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League.-Early life:Born just outside Baltimore, Maryland, Schwartz attended Mount Saint Joseph High School, an all male Catholic school, where he played football.Schwartz was a four-year letterman at...
disagreed with the call, questioning what else could have Suh had done differently. Several Detroit players also disagreed with the call, with receiver Calvin Johnson
Calvin Johnson (American football)
Calvin Johnson, Jr. is an American football wide receiver for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Lions second overall in the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Georgia Tech....
saying that Suh "didn’t go to the elbow. It’s obviously a push, a push down." Former NFL Vice President of Officiating and current Fox Sports
Fox Sports (USA)
Fox Sports is a division of the Fox Broadcasting Company . It was formed in 1994 with Fox's acquisition of broadcast rights to National Football League games...
analyst Mike Pereira
Mike Pereira
Mike Pereira is a former Vice President of Officiating for the National Football League . He first took over the position in 2001, succeeding Jerry Seeman. He was also a game official in the NFL for two seasons as a side judge on the officiating crew headed by referee Mike Carey...
wrote that, "It's a judgment call and one you have to live with. Player safety is [currently] a huge issue, and there will continue to be an emphasis by the officials to protect all players." Rich McKay
Rich McKay
Rich McKay is the president, CEO, and former general manager of the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League. He was the general manager of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when they won Super Bowl XXXVII.-Early years:...
, President of the Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and co-chairman of the NFL Competition Committee, acknowledged that, "At full speed, you can see where (Hochuli) saw at least what he saw ... Player safety is always going to be at the forefront (for) these officials. I'm not one that's going to sit here and say right call or wrong call ... And what Ed Hochuli saw and what he called ... he thought he saw it, and he called it that way." The league fined Suh $15,000 for the hit, although he appealed that decision.
Celebrity
Hochuli's presence on the football field has created a cultCult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
following. His rise in popularity is believed to have been started by Phil Simms
Phil Simms
Phillip Martin "Phil" Simms is a former American football quarterback, and currently a television sportscaster for the CBS network. After a standout career at Morehead State University, Simms was drafted in the first round by the New York Giants of the National Football League with the number...
, a former NFL quarterback and current color commentator
Color commentator
A color commentator is a sports commentator who assists the play-by-play announcer, often by filling in any time when play is not in progress. The color analyst and main commentator will often exchange comments freely throughout the broadcast, when the play-by-play announcer is not describing the...
for the NFL on CBS
NFL on CBS
The NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...
, who made reference to the size of Hochuli's arms during a telecast. On the Internet, websites that sell Hochuli merchandise as well as blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
s with his namesake
Namesake
Namesake is a term used to characterize a person, place, thing, quality, action, state, or idea that has the same, or a similar, name to another....
exist. He is often affectionately referred to as "Hochules", a combination of his last name and "Hercules
Hercules
Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...
", in homage to his large biceps. While he is aware of his celebrity status, Hochuli does not understand it. He said in a USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
interview, "I get a kick out of the notoriety, because I'm just a referee. I'm not the players. The players are the game. They're what this is all about. I get notoriety because I explain things, and I get notoriety because I have a decent physique, which is funny because I'm a shrimp, a peewee compared to those players. Neither one of those things has anything to do with whether I'm a good referee." His recognition stems to the streets, in airports, and in the courtroom. He has been approached by notable athletes such as former National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
(NBA) player Charles Barkley
Charles Barkley
Charles Wade Barkley is a former American professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Sir Charles" and "The Round Mound of Rebound", Barkley established himself as one of the National Basketball Association's most dominating power forwards...
at the airport. "It never ceases to amaze me," Hochuli told the Arizona Daily Star
Arizona Daily Star
The Arizona Daily Star is the major morning daily newspaper that serves Tucson and surrounding districts of southern Arizona in the United States. The paper was purchased by Pulitzer in 1971; Lee Enterprises bought Pulitzer in 2005....
. "The number of people that will just come up to me and recognize me." He appreciates the notoriety, saying, "I enjoy the fact that there are people who like me as a referee. I hear from a lot of people and I enjoy that. Like anybody, I like praise. Probably because of my personality, I thrive on that more than other people."
Hochuli's career as an NFL official has been chronicled on the NFL Network
NFL Network
NFL Network is an American television specialty channel owned and operated by the National Football League . It was launched November 4, 2003, only eight months after the league's 32 team owners voted unanimously to approve its formation...
's Six Days to Sunday in 2005. The half-hour television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
detailed the game preparations that Hochuli goes through from Monday to Saturday during the season. This preparation work includes fifteen hours of video tape game review, a "couple hours" completing administrative tasks for the NFL, reading the rulebook, taking a weekly written exam on rules
Regulation of sport
The regulation of sport is usually done by a regulatory agency for each sport, resulting in a core of relatively invariant, agreed rules. People responsible for leisure activities often seek recognition and respectability as sports by joining sports federations such as the International Olympic...
, and communicating with league supervisors.
Hochuli's celebrity status off the field includes being mentioned on the "Top Ten List" during the January 29, 2002 edition of the Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...
. His likeness appears in the Madden NFL
Madden NFL
Madden NFL is an American football video game series developed by Electronic Arts Tiburon for EA Sports. The game series is named after Pro Football Hall of Famer John Madden, a well-known former Super Bowl-winning coach of the Oakland Raiders and color commentator...
video game franchise starting with Madden NFL 06
Madden NFL 06
Madden NFL 06 is an American football video game which was released on August 8, 2005. It is also a launch game for the Xbox 360. It is the 16th installment of the Madden NFL series by EA Sports, named for noted color commentator John Madden. The product features former Philadelphia Eagles...
.