This entry was written by Greg Johnson, the Associate Director of The NCAA News and Champion magazine.

The ripple effect from former NBA Referee Tim Donaghy providing inside information to gamblers on games, including ones he officiated, is larger than the league. Impartiality is the most basic rule of officiating, and the high-profile violation sent shockwaves throughout the entire sports world, including intercollegiate athletics.

I spent July 27-29 at the National Association of Sports Officials Summit in Cleveland and heard tales of youth soccer officials being criticized by parents asking if they were "on the take." The scandal broke just a week before last year's summit, where the consensus was that no matter the sentence, it wouldn't be harsh enough.

The hurt was evident everywhere you looked at NASO a year ago. Now that Donaghy has been sentenced to 15 months in jail and three years of supervised probation, sports officials at every level are trying to move forward.

Improving background checks for officials in all sports is one of the positives to emerge from this public-relations nightmare. Officials being more aware of actions by their peers and policing their own is another preventative measure.

Meeting with these men and women of NASO - who take it upon themselves to do what often is a thankless job - has been eye-opening. Not only do you see a human side of some of the top NFL, NBA and intercollegiate officials, the feeling of integrity is unmistakable.

Bob Delaney, who has worked more than 20 seasons in the NBA, held a two-hour breakout session in which he talked about the importance of plowing straight ahead through the controversy and maintaining integrity.

Delaney is also a former New Jersey state trooper, who in the mid-1970s worked undercover for three years infiltrating an organized-crime group. During his time with the state police, he saw scandals in which fellow police officers were caught breaking the law.

During those times, I imagine you go back to the basics of why you chose to be in a profession in which public trust is inherent and reflect on what to do when that trust is broken. Whether it is youth, high school, intercollegiate or professional sports, the expectation of officials is to ensure that a fair contest is conducted.

I attended a break-out session with basketball officials - again from every level - in which plays from an Ohio high school boys' state tournament game were shown. Different situations were displayed and the officials talked about why a correct call was made and why a certain call was missed.

They spoke about the responsibilities that each of the three officials had and the areas of the court they were assigned to watch. They dissected traveling calls, charge/blocks, physical play in the low post, mechanics, positioning and other plays. The attention to detail in the conversations was amazing to hear.

Nobody is on the take here. All of this healthy dialogue was done with one goal in mind: making the right call. It's an experience I'll try to keep in mind when I watch my favorite college teams next season.