From Claims to the Big Ten

Mike Stumberg has been in the insurance industry since 1993, most of that time working in claims. For the last five years, he’s been with Grinnell Mutual. For about half of his career, he has also worked in leadership — both at the office and in — well, on — the field. It’s the time he spends on the field that most people don’t know about.

On football-season Saturdays, Stumberg puts on stripes and his whistle for his job as a college football official for the Big Ten Conference; his position is Center Judge. “I’m in the black and white,” he says. “I’m in the stripes on Saturdays around the country.”

Stumberg did not start out in the Big Ten. As with his career in Claims, he worked his way up starting at lower levels and taking opportunities for advancement as they came. “You typically start at high school and club sports,” he explained. “I stuck with it and I got opportunities to work at higher levels.”

Stumberg has been officiating for 30-plus years, and the schedule can be grueling. College football season runs from September through November, with postseason games stretching into January. The Big Ten also comprises teams from a huge part of the country. “You can be on the West Coast one weekend and on the East Coast the next,” he said.

Since the games are on weekends, it fits with his weekday work. Still, fall gets busy. “It does get a little taxing,” he admitted. But he has made sure employers knew about his officiating gig, and most have worked with him to help balance his work and officiating.

“Being a Center Judge is challenging,” Stumberg said. “There are always coaches, players, and fans who don’t like your call, and they will let you know. Fans can be very passionate. There might be a hundred thousand people booing at you, but you cannot take it personally. You’ve got a job to do.”

The game that stands out most to him is the 2018 National Championship between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Georgia Bulldogs, a game that’s widely remembered for its dramatic overtime finish, with plenty of controversy about the officiating.

The biggest lesson he has taken from officiating is this:“There is no substitute for preparation.”

That lesson shows up in his claims work, too. “On the field, you prepare, you pay attention, you communicate, and you make the call — even when people disagree. In claims, you use the same muscles. Be fair. Make decisions you can stand behind.”