ArbiterSports: Hiring, Background Check & Employment Verification FAQs

The business traces its origins to 1984 in Salt Lake City, where a firm then called Advanced Business Technology built a computerized system for assigning sports officials at the request of the Utah High School Activities Association. That product became known as The Arbiter and moved from MS-DOS to Windows in 1997. In 2008 the NCAA acquired a controlling interest and combined the business with a competing firm, Excel Sports Officiating, creating the company that took the ArbiterSports name in 2009. The NCAA sold its majority stake to the private equity firm Serent Capital in 2017.

The company is headquartered in Sandy, Utah. In February 2025 it announced a new brand identity, shortening its name from ArbiterSports to Arbiter to reflect a product line that had expanded well beyond officiating into broader school and athletics administration. Older materials, job boards, and employer profiles still carry the ArbiterSports name, and the legacy arbitersports.com domain remains in use alongside the newer arbiter.io site.

Arbiter's products cover official and event worker assigning, game and event scheduling, facilities scheduling, student registration, coach and official eligibility tracking, school payment processing, athletic websites, and a compliance and oversight platform used by state associations. It has grown through acquisition as well as product development, adding FamilyID in 2020 and both rSchoolToday and BigTeams in 2025. Its customers include K-12 school districts, state high school associations, colleges, and independent officiating associations, and its user base includes administrators, coaches, officials, and families.

Company culture and employee programs:

As a software company serving education and athletics, Arbiter hires for software engineering, quality assurance, product management, user experience design, implementation and onboarding, customer support, account management, sales, marketing, finance, and operations. Customer support and implementation roles are seasonal in rhythm, since school sports calendars drive demand peaks around the start of each athletic season. Because the platform stores information about students, minors, coaches, and officials, staff in support and engineering roles can encounter sensitive personal data, and training on data handling and privacy practices is a normal part of onboarding. Work arrangements, benefits, and whether a position is onsite in Utah, hybrid, or remote vary by role, so candidates should confirm details during the hiring process.

Yes. Employers in the education technology and software industry, including ArbiterSports, are legally permitted to conduct pre-employment background checks on job candidates, provided they follow applicable federal, state, and local laws. In the United States, employment screening is governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which sets requirements for disclosure, written candidate authorization, and the adverse action process. Companies that serve K-12 school districts also operate in an environment where customers commonly expect vendor personnel with access to student data to be vetted.

ArbiterSports is generally reported to conduct background checks as part of its hiring process, which is consistent with standard practice among software companies that serve schools and youth athletics. Employees may have access to systems holding information about students, minors, coaches, and officials, and school district contracts frequently include vendor screening expectations. The scope of an ArbiterSports background check may vary by role, by the level of data access involved, and by the state where the position is based. Separately from employee hiring, the company's platform is also used by associations and schools to manage screening requirements for officials and volunteers, which is a distinct process from employment screening at the company itself.

The process varies by role, but software company hiring generally follows a recognizable sequence. Candidates apply online, then complete a recruiter screen covering experience, location, and role expectations. Technical candidates typically move on to a skills exercise or technical interview, while customer-facing candidates may be asked to complete a scenario or role-play exercise. Most candidates then interview with the hiring manager and members of the team. Candidates who receive a conditional offer are usually asked to consent to a background check before a start date is confirmed, and onboarding and product training follow once pre-employment steps are complete.

Turnaround depends on the searches ordered, how responsive courts and previous employers are, and how many jurisdictions a candidate's history covers. Many background checks are completed within a few business days, while searches spanning several counties or states, or records requiring manual court retrieval, can take longer. Education verification can also add time when an institution processes requests slowly. For a fuller explanation of what drives timelines, see background check turnaround times.

The employer determines which searches to include. For a role at a company serving schools and youth athletics, a background check may cover some or all of the following:

Candidates should read the disclosure and authorization forms provided during hiring to see exactly which searches apply to their role.

The lookback window depends on the search type and on the law of the state where the candidate lives or worked. Under the FCRA, consumer reporting agencies are generally limited from reporting most adverse information older than seven years, with exceptions that can apply to convictions and to positions above certain salary thresholds. Some states apply stricter limits or restrict the reporting of non-conviction records. Where a role supports school district customers, state education statutes may also shape what a district expects of vendor personnel, and those rules differ from state to state.

The company does not publish a detailed policy on applicants with felony records, and decisions of this kind are typically made case by case. Considerations commonly include the nature and seriousness of the offense, how much time has passed, evidence of rehabilitation, and how the record relates to the responsibilities of the role, especially where access to student or minor data is involved. Many states and cities have adopted "ban-the-box" laws that limit when employers may ask about criminal history during the application process. Candidates are encouraged to be accurate on their application and prepared to discuss their background if it comes up.

Candidates are typically asked to sign a disclosure and authorization form consenting to a background check before it is initiated. Applicants should be prepared to supply accurate personal information, including full legal name, date of birth, Social Security number, and address history. Candidates in roles with education or certification requirements should also have institution names and dates available for verification. Accurate information helps ensure searches are run in the correct jurisdictions and reduces the chance of delays.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act is the U.S. federal law that governs how consumer reporting agencies collect, use, and share background check information. It requires employers to obtain written consent before running a report, to provide a copy of the report and a summary of rights before taking adverse action, and to allow a reasonable opportunity to dispute inaccurate information before a final decision is made. For a detailed overview of how the FCRA and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidance apply to employment screening, visit Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

No, and the distinction matters. Sports officials, coaches, and volunteers who are screened through tools an association or school district administers are being vetted by that organization under its own rules, not hired by the software company whose platform manages the workflow. Requirements for officials are generally set by the state association, league, or school district, and they vary widely by state and sport. Someone applying for a job at the company itself goes through the company's own employment hiring process instead. Candidates should confirm with the recruiter or the association which process applies to them.

Running a personal background check with Checkr lets you preview what ArbiterSports may see and helps you identify potential inaccuracies before they affect your job application. In one secure report you can review:

Create your report in minutes at Checkr Personal Background Checks. To showcase verified credentials proactively, build a free Checkr Profile you can share with recruiters, hiring managers, or potential employers.

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The resources and information provided here are for educational and informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Always consult your own counsel for up-to-date legal advice and guidance related to your practices, needs, and compliance with applicable laws.