Tony Corrente Tony Corrente ( born c . 1952 ) is an American football official in the National Football League ( NFL ) since the 1995 NFL season . He wears uniform number 99 . His officiating career is most notable for being the referee of Super Bowl XLI . He has also served as the Coordinator of Football Officiating for the Pacific - 12 Conference since June 2011 . Personal . Corrente resides in La Mirada , California . He has earned a bachelor ' s degree from California State University , Fullerton in 1975 and a master ' s in education from Azusa Pacific University in 1988 . Outside of his NFL officiating duties , he teaches social sciences at La Mirada High School . As a former baseball coach , his teams won the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section 3 - A Championship in 1988 and were the runner - up for the same title in 1991 . Officiating career . Early years . Corrente began his officiating career in 1971 working high school and junior college level games as a member of the Long Beach and San Gabriel Valley Football Officials Associations . Between 1971 and 1981 , Corrente officiated three California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Championships and seven Junior College Bowl games as both a Referee and Back Judge . In 1981 , he was appointed to the staff of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association ( later renamed Big West Conference ) where he officiated the Freedom and California Bowl s . His last 6 years in the Big West was as a full time Referee . In 1991 , Corrente joined the officiating staff of the Western Athletic Conference ( WAC ) where he officiated the Alamo , Aloha , and Rose Bowl s . National Football League . In 1995 , Tony was selected to become a member of the NFL officiating staff as a back judge before being promoted to referee at the beginning of the 1998 NFL season . In his three seasons as a back judge , he worked two playoff games including the 1997 NFC Championship Game . Tony also officiated in NFL Europe working the World Bowl in both 1995 ( Back Judge ) and 1998 ( Referee ) . In 1998 , he became a referee after Dale Hamer returned to the head linesman position and Gary Lane returned to the side judge position . Corrente worked the NFC Championship Game in 2001 between the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford , New Jersey and the 2010 AFC Championship Game between the New York Jets and the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis . Since joining the NFL in 1995 , Corrente has been involved in 13 post - season assignments including 3 AFC / NFC Championships and as the alternate Referee in Super Bowl XL and as Referee in Super Bowl XLI between the Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts . Corrente ' s officiating crew for the 2011 NFL season consists of umpire Fred Bryan , head linesman John McGrath , line judge Darryll Lewis , field judge Gary Cavaletto , side judge Allen Baynes and back judge Greg Wilson . Corrente was treated for throat cancer during the 2011 NFL season . In the second half of the season opener at M & T Bank Stadium on September 11 , he sustained pain in his head , back and buttocks after being knocked backwards to the turf while trying to break up a skirmish between Matt Birk and Michael Oher of the Baltimore Ravens and Ryan Mundy and LaMarr Woodley of the Pittsburgh Steelers . Based on advice from a former member of his officiating crew , Corrente took Motrin instead of Tylenol for pain relief following the match . Unaware of its antiplatelet effect , he experienced bouts of coughing up blood while continuing to use the drug for the following two weeks . After the discovery of a cancerous mass at the base of his tongue , he opted to eliminate the tumor through chemotherapy and radiation instead of having it surgically removed . The seven - week course was performed at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center . Corrente was inactive from officiating during Weeks 13 through 15 . He was able to referee the New Orleans Saints ' 45 – 28 victory over the Detroit Lions in an NFC Wild Card match at the Mercedes - Benz Superdome on January 7 , 2012 .