2006 Outstanding Football Official Award Recipients


A.C. “Butch” Lambert, Sr.
2006 OUTSTANDING FOOTBALL OFFICIAL AWARD
CO-RECIPIENT
Southeastern Conference

A legend among college officiating circuits, Butch Lambert, Sr., officiated college football for more than 30 years. Lambert began his illustrious career with the Southeastern Conference in 1953 and would serve as a line judge for the next 30 years before becoming a technical advisor in 1982. Following his retirement from active officiating, he served as the SEC Supervisor of Officials until his death in 1985.

During his career, Lambert was selected to officiate in 12 college bowl games, two of which were to decide the National Championship. Lambert’s most famous moment on the field occurred in the 1978 Gator Bowl, where Ohio State coach Woody Hayes ended his career by hitting a player on the sidelines. Hayes hit a Clemson player right in front of Lambert, who penalized Ohio State. Lambert and Hayes would later become friends.

“I know he would be so overwhelmed by receiving this award,” said Butch Lambert, Jr. about his father. “It would be a week or so before he would be able to talk. He had such respect for the coaches and the players who played the game and was so happy to be able to be a part of the game through officiating.”

Lambert had an excellent reputation among his peers and a national reputation as an outstanding SEC official. For his long and distinguished career, Lambert received several unique honors. In 1985, the field at Mississippi Veterans’ Memorial Stadium was renamed the A.C. Lambert Field and in 1994, the new football stadium at Itawamba Community College was named A.C. Lambert Stadium. In 1980, he received the Distinguished American Award from the Central Mississippi Chapter of the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame.

In addition to football, Lambert also enjoyed a 21-year career as a basketball referee.

Lambert began his athletics career as an assistant football and basketball coach at Southwest Junior College in 1948 and became head football coach and athletics director of Itawamba Junior College one year later.

Highly active in his local community, Lambert was the first president of the Tupelo Touchdown Club, the Tombigbee High School Football Conference, the North Mississippi Kiddie League Baseball Association and the Natchez Trace Golf Club. A former president of the National Junior College Athletic Association, he also coached Little League Baseball for seven years.


A.C. “Butch” Lambert, Jr.
2006 OUTSTANDING FOOTBALL OFFICIAL AWARD
CO-RECIPIENT
Southeastern Conference


An accomplished official on both the high school and collegiate levels, Butch Lambert, Jr. followed in his father’s footsteps as one of the profession’s best. Lambert’s officiating career began in 1969 as a field judge for high school football. From there, he served as a field judge on the junior college level from 1972-74, which included the officiating of two junior college All-Star games.

In 1974, Lambert’s officiating career took off when he joined the Southeastern Conference. He officiated as a field judge for the first two years and then enjoyed a long 26-year career as an umpire. In this tenure, Lambert officiated 38 bowl games, 17 Blue-Gray All-Star games, 13 Senior Bowls, one National Championship game (Oklahoma-Washington in January 1985) and one SEC Championship game. He also officiated one game with his father, the Auburn-Georgia Tech game in Atlanta in 1981.

“This award is a credit to all the people that I’ve officiated with throughout the years,” Lambert said. “It’s a tribute to the officials I’ve known and worked with, and I feel like it’s a great honor for them as well as for my dad and me.”

Extremely active on the collegiate scene, Lambert was the president of the Southeastern Conference Football Officials Association and was twice named a nominee for the Ed Dudley Award for excellence among SEC officials.

Off the field, Lambert is the president of Butch Lambert & Associations, LLC and has over 30 years of experience in all aspects of solid waste management including marketing, business development, negotiations, landfill and cell construction and project management. For 35 years he has learned extensive experience in public, community and media relations as well as government affairs at the local, state and regional levels.

A graduate of the University of Mississippi with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Lambert was an accomplished pitcher on the baseball team and received two professional contracts.

A member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Leadership Board, Lambert remains extremely active in his local community serving many organizations including the University of Mississippi Alumni Association, M-Club Alumni Association, Jackson Touchdown Club and the 32 Degree Master Masons.

He is also a past board member of the Central Mississippi Chapter of the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame.