When Drew McDougall swished his last free throw and rebounded his last his shot after his last high school game, he decided he wasn’t going to quit being involved in basketball. Instead of playing the game, he started refereeing. Over much of the time since, he has had a dependable whistle on the court.

McDougall, who was born in Detroit in 1970 and graduated from high school in Farmington, Michigan, has refereed across the country in places he’s lived. After graduating from high school, McDougall got his BA at the University of Michigan and then got his masters at George Washington University. While attending GWU in Washington D.C., McDougall refereed there, giving him a special insight to the game.

“Reffed lawyer leagues in Washington D.C.,” McDougall said. “So, I feel like I can referee anywhere after that.”

In high school, McDougall didn’t limit himself to just playing basketball. He also played quarterback in football. In basketball, he was a forward and he wasn’t lacking talent. He won the coach’s  award for three years in basketball. After graduating from Farmington High School in 1988, McDougall played adult flag football and company softball.

In the spring of 1988 while he was still in high school, McDougall got involved in coaching YMCA basketball. He coached teams mixed with kindergarten and first grade and also fourth and fifth grade teams. That same year, McDougall kept himself busy when he officiated YMCA basketball. Later, from 1991 to 1992, he refereed college intramural flag football, volleyball and basketball. From 1994 to 2004, he refereed flag football, basketball and softball. From 2015 to now, McDougall has been part of the Western Washington Basketball Officials Association and the Tacoma Basketball Officials Association.

He remains committed to officiating basketball, helping to fill the need for officials. And his commitment hasn’t gone unnoticed. In 2022, WWBOA named McDougall official of the year. “I was incredibly honored to be named one of the referees of the year for our association,” McDougall said.

Over the years, McDougall’s commitment to refereeing has meant more than just a way to make some money on the side. Being a referee has also been a way for him to connect with the community and to give back to the community. It’s an ongoing commitment. The final basketball game for middle school teams is in June. The first summer league games start a week later.

“There’s no rest for the referees,” McDougall said.

For his career, McDougall has worked as the coordinator for the U.S. Navy Small Business Program’s Outreach. He has over 19 years of experience working with the United States Navy to manage 20 Surface Warfare Systems Technology (SWST) and Electronic Warfare (EW).