Dee Kantner


Dee Kantner is a women's basketball referee for the National Collegiate Athletic Association. With the NCAA, Kantner has refereed for various Final Four and championship games in women's basketball. Outside of the NCAA, Kantner was one of the first women referees in the National Basketball Association from 1997 to 2002. She also appeared at the 1998 FIBA World Championship for Women and the 2000 Summer Olympics as a referee.

Early life and education

Kantner spent her childhood in Reading, Pennsylvania. She played field hockey while at the University of Pittsburgh and graduated with an engineer's degree in 1982.

Career

Kantner began refereeing while at the University of Pittsburgh. After university, she worked in sales engineering. Kantner left engineering in 1984 when she was hired as an NCAA Division I official. In 1997, Kantner was hired as one of the first women referees in the National Basketball Association alongside Violet Palmer. Her first regular season game as an NBA referee was in November 1997 during a match between the Atlanta Hawks and the Philadelphia 76ers. During her time with the NBA, she was the Supervisor of Officials for the Women's National Basketball Association from 1997 to 1998.
Kantner remained with the NBA until she was fired in 2002. After leaving the NBA, she continued to work in the WNBA as the Director of Referee Development from 2002 to 2004 and was renamed Supervisor of Officials in 2004. With the NCAA, Kantner has been a referee in over twenty Final Four rounds and over ten championship games in women's basketball. Outside of the NCAA, Kantner was a referee at the 1998 FIBA World Championship for Women, 2000 Summer Olympics and the Continental Basketball Association.