COMPTON, Calif. — There are nearly 900 officials working in the top tier of men’s college basketball, keeping order at thousands of games. They wear black-and-white striped shirts and try to keep a low profile.
Last season, only one of them was a woman. Her name is Crystal Hogan, and when she sat down in February to talk about it, about the lonely and perplexing ratio of being 1 out of 900 in N.C.A.A. Division I men’s basketball, she was coolly diplomatic, as a good official should be.
“I can’t answer that,” she said. “I’m just happy for the opportunity.