Former NFL VP of Officiating joins FOX Sports

NEW YORK

It’s official!

FOXSports.com welcomes Mike Pereira.

Already in position to boast the world’s best NFL game broadcasts, studio analysis and internet coverage, FOX Sports now goes deep to add the sharpest mind available on NFL officiating. Mike Pereira, the NFL’s former vice president of officiating, Monday becomes the newest member of the FOX Sports team serving as a multi-platform NFL rules analyst.

Each Sunday, Pereira, who retired after the 2009 NFL season, will be situated in his own control room at the FOX Network Center in Los Angeles, giving him visual access to all games played. If circumstances warrant a rules interpretation or explanation, he’ll be available to interact with FOX NFL SUNDAY studio personalities, or communicate with NFL on FOX game crews at stadiums across the country, either on- or off-camera. Additionally, NFL fans will have the opportunity to ask Pereira questions via live chat on FOXSports.com. Assisting him to monitor all Sunday game action will be a team of Los Angeles-area football referees, each assigned to a different game.

"We feel that we have the strongest lineup of NFL studio analysts, game analysts and Internet coverage and today that lineup gets even stronger with the addition of Mike," said FOX Sports President Eric Shanks. "His tremendous experience and knowledge of the NFL's rules are second-to-none and we are thrilled to add him as an incredible resource to our coverage."

“I always appreciated the fact that FOX Sports made a tremendous effort to know the rules and incorporate that into their broadcasts,” said Pereira. “To now join the network is a tremendous honor and my goal is to help fans learn the rules and understand the philosophies behind them. I’m thrilled to be a part of it.”

In addition to his responsibilities on Sundays, Pereira will be a regular guest on FOX Sports Radio’s national lineup and pen a weekly column titled “Under Review” for FOXSports.com. “Under Review” will debut after Week 1 and will rank the 10 most impactful calls made during the previous week's games.

“Adding an expert of Mike Pereira’s stature reflects our mission to acquire the best talent possible,” said Stephen Miller, Managing Editor for FOXSports.com. “Fans will constantly question the calls made on the field by NFL officials. But to truly question the authority, fans need to know the authority. Mike will help them do that.”

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Pereira has been involved with the game of football dating back to 1982 when he was an NCAA Division I official. Pereira spent 14 years officiating college football beginning with nine years in the Big West Conference (1982-91) followed by five years in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) (1992-96). During that time, Pereira officiated eight postseason Bowl Games including the Aloha Bowl and Cotton Bowl twice each, Citrus Bowl, Gator Bowl, Holiday Bowl and Freedom Bowl.

Pereira made the jump to the NFL as a sideline judge in 1996 while also holding the title of supervisor of officials for the WAC. After two years patrolling the sidelines in the NFL and overseeing WAC officiating, Pereira was promoted to NFL supervisor of officiating in 1998. In 2001 Pereira became director of officiating for the NFL and then was promoted to vice president of NFL officiating in 2004. He spent a total of 14 years with the NFL.

Pereira was born and raised in Stockton, Calif. and graduated from Santa Clara University in 1972 with a B.A. in Finance. Pereira now lives in Sacramento with his wife Gail.