MinnDak Officials Consortium (MinnDak) is a fast-growing officiating group led by Joe Kulas, Brandon Walsh, and Jordan Stevens. Known for its commitment to mentorship, feedback, and sustainable officiating pipelines, MinnDak stands apart for how it values people over just plugging schedules.
Beyond simply assigning games, the team invests in development through coach collaboration, evaluations, classroom recruitment, and now, technology. As MinnDak expanded across sports and seasons, the need for an efficient, centralized platform became urgent. Managing assignments, tracking payments, and communicating across different tools was no longer scalable.
That’s when MinnDak turned to Refr Sports.
For MinnDak, scaling came with growing pains.
Assignors were juggling thousands of games across multiple sports, with disjointed systems and manual processes slowing them down.
Specific challenges included:
Payment logistics, especially across different assignors and schools, created headaches. Coordinating who owed what, when, and to whom introduced delays, confusion, and extra work.
Assignors needed to manage availability, track acceptances, and avoid double-booking, all without a system smart enough to help manage these intricacies.
Since adopting Refr Sports, MinnDak has significantly streamlined its operations and re-energized its team to focus more on mentorship and development, not logistics.
"Payments are the biggest impact. One less thing to worry about.” – Joe Kulas, Assignor
With Refr, officials are now paid on a consistent and automated schedule. This has improved transparency for both officials and assignors and removed a huge burden from assignors.
Going from basketball to baseball was seamless.” – Joe Kulas, Assignor
With Refr’s mobile app, officials and assignors can easily view assignments, earnings, and updates in one place. This streamlined access reduces the need for back-and-forth communication and creates a more efficient experience overall.
“I like seeing the officials' earnings. It’s right there. You don’t have to dig for it.” – Joe Kulas, Assignor
Refr allows MinnDak to seamlessly manage assignments across multiple sports within a single, unified system. In addition, the introduction of game duplication features and improved game entry tools has significantly increased efficiency, especially in high-volume sports.
Refr has enabled MinnDak to move away from spreadsheets, emails, and fragmented systems. With consistent payments, reliable scheduling, and easier assignment workflows, assignors like Joe and Brandon can spend more time developing officials and less time troubleshooting logistics.
It has also helped MinnDak stay true to its mission. The organization is committed to building a culture where officials want to return season after season. By modernizing operations, Refr has freed up time and energy to support real mentorship, coach relationships, and long-term referee growth.
For MinnDak Officials, Refr isn’t just a scheduling tool. It is a partner in growth.
With Refr handling the backend, MinnDak can stay focused on what drives their mission: fair assignments, referee development, and maintaining a sustainable officiating pipeline.
