Dr. Laird Hayes (born October 3, 1949) is a former

American football official In gridiron football, an official is a person who has responsibility in enforcing the rules and maintaining the order of the game. During professional and most college football games, seven officials operate on the field. Since 2015, Division I ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was in the NFL for 23 years between 1995 and 2017. He wore uniform number 125. For the

2017 NFL season The 2017 NFL season was the 98th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL) and the 52nd of the Super Bowl era. The season began on September 7, 2017, with the Kansas City Chiefs defeating the defending Super Bowl LI champion ...

, Hayes was the side judge on the officiating crew headed by referee Walt Anderson. Hayes retired following the 2017 season. Hayes graduated from San Marcos High School in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

. Hayes earned his bachelor's degree from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

in 1971. He was awarded a Master's and Doctorate in Higher Education from the

University of California at Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the Ca ...

in 1976. He played on football, basketball and baseball teams in high school, which prepared him for an athletic performance at Princeton. He played on the freshman football team and four years as a catcher for the Princeton Tigers baseball team. Hayes' officiating career started with basketball, baseball, and football games in high school and community colleges. In 1983, he was elevated to the

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

as a football official. This was followed with a 1995 appointment to the National Football League roster of officials and his designation as a side judge. During his career in the NFL, he has officiated in three

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

s: XXXVI in 2002,

XXXVIII 38 (thirty-eight) is the natural number following 37 and preceding 39. In mathematics *38 ! − 1 yields which is the 16th factorial prime. *There is no answer to the equation φ(''x'') = 38, making 38 a nontotient. * 37 and 38 are the first ...

in 2004, and XLVI in 2012 (where he made a call which might be consider one of the greatest calls in Super Bowl history). He also officiated at the

2006 Pro Bowl The 2006 Pro Bowl was the National Football League's all-star game for the 2005 season. The game was played on February 12, 2006, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. It marked the 27th consecutive time that the National Football League's all ...

. Hayes has held the post of Men's Soccer Coach and Professor of Education and Athletics at

Orange Coast College Orange Coast College (OCC) is a Public college, public community college in Costa Mesa, California, Costa Mesa in Orange County, California. It was founded in 1947, with its first classes opening in the fall of 1948. It provides Associate of Ar ...

Costa Mesa, California Costa Mesa (; Spanish language, Spanish for "coastal tableland") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including ...

, since 1976 and retired in November 2010. He also taught First Aid/CPR, surfing, bowling, soccer, and weight training. Hayes is President of the Quarterback and Receiver Camp (QBR) in its 50th year of non-contact, football fundamentals training for youth players, grades 6 through 12. QBR schedules six summer camps held in California, New Jersey, Arkansas, Ohio and Georgia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Laird Living people 1949 births College football officials NFL officials Princeton Tigers baseball players UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies alumni Sportspeople from Santa Barbara, California