Sarah Thomas

What's the barrier she broke?
Thomas became the first woman to officiate a game involving a Division I-A team, when she worked as a line judge in Memphis's home game against Jacksonville State on Sept. 15. The 33-year-old pharmaceuticals sales rep and mother of two has worked Mississippi high school games for 11 years but had never done a college game. She was discovered by Conference USA's coordinator of officials at an officiating clinic in June and is scheduled to work another conference game this season.

Was she a jock before becoming a zebra?
The first athlete at Pascagoula (Miss.) High to earn five varsity letters in one sport (softball, which she began playing in eighth grade), the 5'11" Thomas was also a hoops standout at the University of Mobile, finishing fourth on the school's career steals list.

How'd she do in her I-A debut?
Thomas made no controversial calls and drew praise from both coaches; Jacksonville's Jack Crowe said she was "not uncomfortable around a football or football players." Said Thomas, "I felt extra pressure because of the media attention on the game. But as my supervisor told me, 'When the game starts, it's just 60 minutes of football.' That's where my concentration was."