Somewhat tangentially:
I'm WAY past ready for the Big Ten to use its jerk money for full-time professional refs. It's dumb that a once/week ref can't feed a family of two (and barely a family of one) on his salary ... and that we act surprised at the quality of the calls.
And, no, paying them more can't guarantee there won't be weekly fan outcry, but at least it will be a gesture of good faith that the best refs are being chased. Not to mention that competitive pay is necessary for a healthy pipeline of officials. I'd like to see the cost/benefit of giving Big Ten refs NFL-equivalent salaries.
More transparency and individual accountability of refs is overdue as well. A few years back, the NBA started publishing extensive details for all calls and no calls in the last 2 minutes of close games. That would be a good start.
Big Ten refs need to be independently rated on performance, with transparency and consequences. Unfortunately, without higher salaries, the incentives to be a ref in such a system are low. The whole system needs a revolution.