LOCK HAVEN, Pa.  – The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference has announced its 2026 Excellence in Officiating Award winners, with Lois Pinto and Dave Kolojejchick earning the honors. The pair becomes only the third-ever recipients of the awards after they were first initiated in the summer of 2024.
 
This year’s duo was selected after a nomination and voting process by the PSAC’s officiating coordinators and the PSAC Officiating Committeee. They will now advance on to regional voting as nominees for the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) Officiating Excellence Award, which will be announced later in the summer.
 
Pinto first got involved with field hockey officiating in 1979 with the PIAA and got involved with collegiate officiating in 1990. Her officiating career has lasted 47 years and counting. She was also an assigner beginning in 2005, doing so for multiple conferences including the Centennial, MAC (Freedom and Commonwealth Conferences) and C2C. She officiated during the 2007 PSAC postseason and worked games in the Division II NCAA Championships in 1995, 1996, and 1998 in addition to working five Division III Championships (2000, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2012) that included duties in the Final Four for ’05 and ’06. Lois continues to work in the sport, mentoring younger hockey umpires both during the off and regular seasons. She continuously gives and is a selfless steward to the sport that has been a part of her life for over 60 years.
 
Kolojejchick has been a softball official since 1982, totaling 45 seasons, and has been a NCAA official since 1987 (40 seasons.) He has worked 20 PSAC Championships, including eight as Crew Chief. His other Division II credentials include four regionals and three super regionals. He has also officiated nine Division I conference championships spread between the Northeast Conference, Patriot League, and America East Conference. In Division III, Kolojejchick has officiated five MAC Championships and has been Crew Chief for five Freedom Conference Championships, four Centennial Conference Championships, a Commonwealth Conference Championship, and six regionals – in addition to one DIII national championship in 2003. He was a 2025 inductee into the USA Softball of Pennsylvania Hall of Fame as an umpire. Dave has served the game of softball in many capacities and given back to the game by mentoring and developing officials on and off the field.

The D2CCA's Excellence in Officiating Awards represent a pioneering effort to recognize outstanding referees across NCAA Division II. The awards are presented to one male and one female official in each NCAA Division II Championship Region and are presented by the gender of the official regardless of the sport officiated.

In addition to the Excellence in Officiating Awards, the D2CCA also has created the following strategic programs aimed at transforming the landscape of sports officiating and address current challenges by creating recognition and recruitment opportunities.

• Officials Appreciation Week acknowledges officials across all sports seasons – fall, winter and spring – highlighting their critical role in maintaining integrity and fair competition.
• Collegiate P2R (Player-to-Ref) Program targets recently graduated student-athletes, helping educate potential officials about the rewarding opportunities in sports officiating, creating a sustainable pipeline of qualified professionals.

These efforts reflect the deep commitment the D2CCA has homed in on to elevate the status of sports officials, by creating structured recognition and celebrating those who ensure fair play and maintain the highest level of standards for athletics competitions.