RefMetrics
NCAA Men's Referee Profiles
Explore career summaries, game counts, and officiating tendencies.
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CM
Chris Merlo
First Season: 2013-14
Last Season: 2025-26
Total Games: 278
Crew Chief: 20 (7%)
U1: 118 (42%)
U2: 140 (50%)
Home Wins: 71%
Home Fouls: 16.0
Away Fouls: 17.2
Foul Diff: 1.1
Attendance: 4,001
| Games | Total | 2025-26 | 2024-25 | 2023-24 | 2022-23 | 2021-22 | 2020-21 | 2019-20 | 2018-19 | 2017-18 | 2016-17 | 2015-16 | 2014-15 | 2013-14 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | 278 | 49 | 37 | 42 | 28 | 9 | 18 | 27 | 12 | 14 | 20 | 9 | 4 | 9 |
| Crew Chief | 20 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| U1 | 118 | 22 | 15 | 22 | 14 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| U2 | 140 | 27 | 19 | 15 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 12 | 5 | 9 | 16 | 7 | 2 | 8 |
| NCAA Tournament | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| NIT Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pre/Mid-Season Tournament | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| CUSA | 65 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 18 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Big 12 | 53 | 24 | 7 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ASUN | 43 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sun Belt | 22 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| American | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| WCC | 15 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MVC | 13 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Big West | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Southern | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| ACC | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| A-10 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Big Sky | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Summit | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SEC | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| WAC | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| CAA | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MAC | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Big 10 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Am. East | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Big East | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Big South | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ivy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Southland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| MAAC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Date | Crew Chief | U1 | U2 | Home | Away | Score | Fouls | Fee | Season $ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-4-4 | Earl Walton | Matt Potter | Chris Merlo | Creighton | West Virginia | 70 - 87 | 12 - 20 | $3,600 | $165,550 |
| 2026-3-19 | John Gaffney | Vladimir Voyard-Tadal | Chris Merlo | Arkansas | Hawai'i | 97 - 78 | 10 - 13 | $3,900 | $161,950 |
| 2026-3-11 | Michael Greenstein | Doug Sirmons | Chris Merlo | TCU | Oklahoma State | 95 - 88 | 15 - 20 | $3,800 | $158,050 |
| 2026-3-10 | Doug Sirmons | Chris Merlo | Chance Moore | Arizona State | Baylor | 83 - 79 | 14 - 20 | $3,800 | $154,250 |
| 2026-3-7 | Tony Padilla | Chris Merlo | Chris Pacsi | Kansas | Kansas State | 104 - 85 | 19 - 21 | $3,800 | $150,450 |
| 2026-3-3 | Marques Pettigrew | Chris Merlo | Tommy Johnson | UCF | Oklahoma State | 104 - 111 | 26 - 27 | $3,800 | $146,650 |
| 2026-2-28 | Bret Smith | Tony Padilla | Chris Merlo | Iowa State | Texas Tech | 73 - 82 | 17 - 23 | $3,800 | $142,850 |
| 2026-2-25 | Bert Smith | Chris Merlo | Chris Pacsi | Gonzaga | Portland | 89 - 48 | 15 - 10 | $3,000 | $139,050 |
| 2026-2-21 | Lewis Garrison | Chris Merlo | Matt Rafferty | Washington State | Saint Mary's | 67 - 83 | 14 - 15 | $3,000 | $136,050 |
| 2026-2-18 | Rick Crawford | Michael Greenstein | Chris Merlo | West Virginia | Utah | 56 - 61 | 18 - 14 | $3,800 | $133,050 |
| 2026-2-17 | Marques Pettigrew | Chris Merlo | Tommy Johnson | UCF | TCU | 82 - 71 | 20 - 17 | $3,800 | $129,250 |
| 2026-2-14 | Darron George | Chris Merlo | Matt Rafferty | Santa Clara | Gonzaga | 86 - 94 | 21 - 16 | $3,000 | $125,450 |
| 2026-2-12 | Justin Shamion | Chris Merlo | Wesley Ford | Southern Utah | California Baptist | 66 - 83 | 11 - 20 | $2,100 | $122,450 |
| 2026-2-11 | Eric Curry | Chris Merlo | Chance Moore | Pacific | Loyola Marymount | 65 - 59 | 13 - 12 | $3,000 | $120,350 |
| 2026-2-7 | Deldre Carr | Chris Merlo | John Jenkins Jr. | Saint Mary's | San Francisco | 79 - 54 | 14 - 13 | $3,000 | $117,350 |
| 2026-2-6 | Gene Grimshaw | Chris Merlo | Dean De Selle | Southern Illinois | Murray State | 81 - 91 | 19 - 18 | $2,800 | $114,350 |
| 2026-2-4 | Jimmy Casas | Eric Curry | Chris Merlo | Oregon State | Washington State | 74 - 64 | 17 - 22 | $3,000 | $111,550 |
| 2026-1-31 | Kipp Kissinger | Tyler Kumpf | Chris Merlo | Arizona State | Arizona | 74 - 87 | 17 - 19 | $3,800 | $108,550 |
| 2026-1-28 | Kelly Pfeifer | Bill Vinovich | Chris Merlo | Santa Clara | San Francisco | 88 - 73 | 20 - 14 | $3,000 | $104,750 |
| 2026-1-24 | Michael Greenstein | Marques Pettigrew | Chris Merlo | Texas Tech | Houston | 90 - 86 | 16 - 25 | $3,800 | $101,750 |
| 2026-1-17 | Deron White | Michael Greenstein | Chris Merlo | West Virginia | Colorado | 72 - 61 | 16 - 18 | $3,800 | $97,950 |
| 2026-1-14 | Randy McCall | Clarence Armstrong | Chris Merlo | Arizona | Arizona State | 89 - 82 | 17 - 22 | $3,800 | $94,150 |
| 2026-1-10 | Lee Cassell | Chris Merlo | Trey Styons | Florida State | NC State | 69 - 113 | 22 - 23 | $3,800 | $90,350 |
| 2026-1-4 | Roger Ayers | Clarence Armstrong | Chris Merlo | Gonzaga | Loyola Marymount | 82 - 47 | 13 - 9 | $3,000 | $86,550 |
| 2026-1-3 | Doug Sirmons | Chris Merlo | Keith Patterson | Kansas State | BYU | 73 - 83 | 22 - 16 | $3,800 | $83,550 |
| 2026-1-1 | Kipp Kissinger | Doug Sirmons | Chris Merlo | Northern Iowa | Indiana State | 75 - 66 | 6 - 16 | $2,800 | $79,750 |
| 2025-12-29 | Clarence Armstrong | James Ford | Chris Merlo | Cincinnati | Lipscomb | 89 - 62 | 16 - 12 | $3,800 | $76,950 |
| 2025-12-28 | Kipp Kissinger | Chris Merlo | Chance Moore | Colorado | Northern Colorado | 81 - 86 | 14 - 12 | $3,800 | $73,150 |
| 2025-12-21 | Roger Ayers | Courtney Green | Chris Merlo | Clemson | Cincinnati | 68 - 65 | 12 - 13 | $3,800 | $69,350 |
| 2025-12-20 | Rick Crawford | Chris Merlo | John Jenkins Jr. | UCF | Florida Gulf Coast | 102 - 80 | 11 - 15 | $3,800 | $65,550 |
| 2025-12-17 | John Gaffney | Chris Merlo | James Duke | Cincinnati | Alabama State | 88 - 51 | 13 - 17 | $3,800 | $61,750 |
| 2025-12-14 | Bret Smith | Brooks Wells | Chris Merlo | Portland | Kent State | 88 - 78 | 20 - 18 | $3,000 | $57,950 |
| 2025-12-13 | Randy McCall | Chris Merlo | Alexander Thompson | BYU | UC Riverside | 100 - 53 | 7 - 20 | $3,800 | $54,950 |
| 2025-12-9 | Ron Groover | Antinio Petty | Chris Merlo | West Virginia | Little Rock | 90 - 58 | 12 - 12 | $3,800 | $51,150 |
| 2025-12-6 | Jeff Campbell | Edward Crenshaw | Chris Merlo | Illinois State | Chicago State | 95 - 53 | 15 - 19 | $2,800 | $47,350 |
| 2025-12-3 | Antinio Petty | Chris Merlo | Robert Felder | Evansville | Ball State | 64 - 52 | 14 - 19 | $2,800 | $44,550 |
| 2025-11-30 | Don Daily | Keith Kimble | Chris Merlo | North Texas | Prairie View A&M | 72 - 69 | 18 - 21 | $3,100 | $41,750 |
| 2025-11-29 | Glen Mayberry | Nate Melson | Chris Merlo | Northern Colorado | Regis (CO) | 104 - 63 | 12 - 7 | $2,450 | $38,650 |
| 2025-11-26 | Lewis Garrison | Chris Merlo | Peter Larson | Toledo | Belmont | 72 - 87 | 11 - 13 | $2,550 | $36,200 |
| 2025-11-25 | Rick Crawford | Tyler Kumpf | Chris Merlo | Oral Roberts | Kennesaw State | 91 - 83 | 24 - 26 | $2,150 | $33,650 |
| 2025-11-21 | Bret Smith | Tyler Kumpf | Chris Merlo | Memphis | Wake Forest | 68 - 69 | 19 - 15 | $3,100 | $31,500 |
| 2025-11-18 | Rick Crawford | Brooks Wells | Chris Merlo | Northern Iowa | Northern Illinois | 70 - 57 | 15 - 23 | $2,800 | $28,400 |
| 2025-11-17 | Marques Pettigrew | Brooks Wells | Chris Merlo | Iowa State | Stonehill | 96 - 57 | 12 - 18 | $3,800 | $25,600 |
| 2025-11-15 | Kipp Kissinger | Deldre Carr | Chris Merlo | Utah | Sam Houston | 85 - 79 | 14 - 20 | $3,800 | $21,800 |
| 2025-11-14 | Ron Groover | Kipp Kissinger | Chris Merlo | Baylor | Tarleton State | 94 - 81 | 17 - 18 | $3,800 | $18,000 |
| 2025-11-12 | Bret Smith | John Hendricks | Chris Merlo | Valparaiso | Nicholls | 68 - 63 | 13 - 21 | $2,800 | $14,200 |
| 2025-11-11 | Antinio Petty | Chris Merlo | Chris Pacsi | Arizona | Northern Arizona | 84 - 49 | 11 - 18 | $3,800 | $11,400 |
| 2025-11-8 | Doug Sirmons | Chris Merlo | Chris Pacsi | Houston | Towson | 65 - 48 | 14 - 12 | $3,800 | $7,600 |
| 2025-11-3 | Tony Padilla | Chris Merlo | James Duke | UCF | Hofstra | 82 - 78 | 20 - 28 | $3,800 | $3,800 |
| 2025-3-19 | James Breeding | Terry Oglesby | Chris Merlo | Texas | Xavier | 80 - 86 | 13 - 18 | $2,000 | $93,050 |
Showing 1-50 of 278 games
Tournament Games
| Tournament | Times Worked | Seasons |
|---|---|---|
| NCAA First Round | 1 | 2025-26 |
| NCAA First Four | 1 | 2024-25 |
| BATTLE 4 ATLANTIS - CAMPUS GAME | 1 | 2016-17 |
| Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis | 2 | 2024-25 |
| Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis - 7th Place Game | 1 | 2024-25 |
| Baha Mar Championship - Consolation Game | 1 | 2025-26 |
| Baha Mar Hoops - Nassau Championship | 3 | 2023-24 |
| Boca Raton Beach Classic - Campus Game | 1 | 2019-20 |
| C-USA Championship - 1st Round | 1 | 2022-23 |
| CORPUS CHRISTI COASTAL CLASSIC | 2 | 2015-16 |
| Coconut Hoops - Royal Palm Division - Championship | 1 | 2025-26 |
| Coconut Hoops - Tarpon Bay Division | 1 | 2025-26 |
| College Basketball Crown - Semifinals | 1 | 2025-26 |
| DR PEPPER CLASSIC | 2 | 2013-14 |
| GULF COAST SHOWCASE | 2 | 2016-17 |
| Greenville Winter Invitational | 1 | 2025-26 |
| Gulf Coast Showcase | 3 | 2022-23 |
| HALL OF FAME CLASSIC - CAMPUS GAME | 1 | 2018-19 |
| HILTON GARDEN INN FGCU CLASSIC | 1 | 2019-20 |
| HOMEWOOD SUITES FGCU SHOOTOUT | 2 | 2017-18 |
| HOOPS IN THE HEARTLAND | 1 | 2017-18 |
| Hall of Fame Classic | 1 | 2023-24 |
| Homewood Suites Classic | 1 | 2024-25 |
| ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS SHOWCASE | 3 | 2017-18 |
| Jacksonville Classic | 1 | 2023-24 |
| Louisiana Tech Classic | 1 | 2020-21 |
| Paradise Classic | 1 | 2021-22 |
| Paradise Invitational | 1 | 2022-23 |
| Phillips 66 Big 12 | 2 | 2025-26 |
| Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship - Quarterfinal | 1 | 2023-24 |
| ROUNDBALL SHOWCASE | 1 | 2013-14 |
| SAVANNAH INVITATIONAL | 2 | 2016-17 |
| West Coast Hoops Showdown | 1 | 2024-25 |
Chris Merlo Game Pace by Season
Total games worked across seasons, relative to each season's opening day
Estimated Salary Information
Salary estimates based on conference rates, tier level, and season adjustments. Rates vary by conference and year.
Career Summary
Current Tier: Tier 1
Career Total: $589,660
Total Games: 278
Avg per Game: $2,121
Highest Season: $165,550 (2025-26)
Season-by-Season Breakdown
| Season | Tier | Games | CC Games | U1/U2 Games | Total Earned | Avg per Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | Tier 1 | 49 | 0 | 49 | $165,550 | $3,379 |
| 2024-25 | Tier 2 | 37 | 3 | 34 | $93,050 | $2,515 |
| 2023-24 | Tier 2 | 42 | 5 | 37 | $104,126 | $2,479 |
| 2022-23 | Tier 2 | 28 | 4 | 24 | $56,235 | $2,008 |
| 2021-22 | Tier 2 | 9 | 2 | 7 | $16,791 | $1,866 |
| 2020-21 | Tier 2 | 18 | 2 | 16 | $31,636 | $1,758 |
| 2019-20 | Tier 3 | 27 | 2 | 25 | $37,650 | $1,394 |
| 2018-19 | Tier 3 | 12 | 1 | 11 | $15,372 | $1,281 |
| 2017-18 | Tier 3 | 14 | 1 | 13 | $17,618 | $1,258 |
| 2016-17 | Tier 3 | 20 | 0 | 20 | $24,697 | $1,235 |
| 2015-16 | Tier 3 | 9 | 0 | 9 | $11,813 | $1,313 |
| 2014-15 | Tier 3 | 4 | 0 | 4 | $5,256 | $1,314 |
| 2013-14 | Tier 3 | 9 | 0 | 9 | $9,866 | $1,096 |
Chris Merlo Salary Pace by Season
Estimated cumulative salary earned across seasons, relative to each season's opening day