BIG 12 BASEBALL Umpire Assignments/Procedures

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP Umpires for the Big 12 Conference Championship will be selected by the Coordinator of Umpires in consultation with the Conference office baseball liaison. These assignments will be made as soon as possible to accommodate an umpire’s need to secure vacation time from work.

CREW CHIEF A crew chief will be assigned for each series. The crew chief will be responsible for communication between the home school, umpires and the Coordinator of Umpires. The crew chief will contact the baseball administrator of the home school at least one week prior to the assigned series to confirm date, time and hotel location for the series. The crew chief shall insure that he and his crew are at the game site at least 90 minutes prior to the scheduled start of the first game of the series. Upon arrival at the field each day of the series, the crew chief shall inform the home institution’s coach of the crew’s arrival. Upon completion of the series, the crew chief will contact the Coordinator regarding any unusual circumstances and complete the umpire evaluations.

UMPIRE CREWS A four-person crew will be assigned by the Big 12 to each Conference home series. A crew chief will be appointed for each series and shall be responsible for all travel plans, logistics and communication with the host institution and coordinator.

EJECTION/SUSPENSION REPORTS All ejections and suspensions will require a report to be filed electronically on the NCAA Central Hub in a timely manner.

GENERAL The Coordinator of Umpires will make assignments for all Conference games.

SCHEDULES The Coordiantor of Umpires shall be furnished with the baseball schedule for the upcoming season at the earliest possible date. The Coordinator should be informed as early as possible about any scheduling changes.

NOTIFICATION OF ASSIGNMENTS The Big 12 Coordinator of Umpires shall work with each institution’s local assignor to assign officials to work each non-conference contest. The Coordinator will make all umpiring assignments for Big 12 Conference series. All fees and expenses, for Conference games, will be paid by the Big 12 based upon established formula, with reimbursement to the Conference by institutions. Umpires are encouraged to travel together as a cost-saving measure.

REPORTING TO GAME SITE The crew chief is responsible for assuring the crew arrives in the city which the game is being played, at least two hours prior to the game and report to the game site no later than 90 minutes before the game time of the first game of the series (60 minutes for every game thereafter). If the travel distance for a day game is more than 150 miles, umpires are encouraged to be on site the night before the game. If flying, umpires are required to get at least a 21-day advanced purchase. It is the responsibility of the crew chief to have his crew at the assignment. In the event a series is extended beyond the scheduled conclusion, the Conference will reimburse umpires for airline penalties and reasonable expenses.

PRE-GAME UMPIRE MEETING The crew chief will work the first game of each series behind home plate and shall be responsible for holding the pre-game meeting at home plate 10 minutes prior to the starting time of each game.

DRESSING ROOMS Each institution will provide a dressing room closely located to the baseball facility for umpires. Admittance to this room shall be limited to game officials and Conference office representatives. No guests, visitors or institutional personnel (other than a trainer or manager upon request or Conference office representative) shall be admitted. The dressing room shall be stocked with soft drinks, water and/or isotonic beverages and towels.

REDUCED CREW If, for any reason, an umpire does not show for an assigned game, the Coordinator Supervisor of Umpires shall be notified and an attempt will be made to contact an umpire either on the staff or in the vicinity of the home school.

SUBSTANTIATION If an umpire is to be absent at a game/series assigned to him for whatever reason, the umpire must be able to substantiate to the Coordinator that his preparation and schedule were sufficient and timely for appearance at the assigned game/series.

EMERGENCY SITUATION/TRAVEL NO-SHOWS If the crew chief/umpire has an emergency and will be unable to show he will attempt to contact the Coordinator of Umpires. If that is not possible he is to call Bob Burda.

 Rich Fetchiet 734/637-2861 (cell) or 734/647-4016  Bob Burda 719/440-0216 (cell) or 469/524-1007

DISCIPLINARY The Commissioner or designee, after consultation with the Coordinator of Umpires, may reprimand or relieve an umpire of future assignments for conduct unbecoming an umpire, failure to cooperate with the Coordinator of Umpires, or for any action detrimental to the Big 12 Conference. Umpires will not receive compensation for revoked assignments.

GAME FEES AND EXPENSES Umpires assigned by the Big 12 Conference will receive $1,500 per series (regardless of whether games are played if umpires are on-site); mileage allowance (56 cents) for four umpires (if the crew is driving from opposite directions. Also note there is a $450 mileage reimbursement cap.); coach airfare for a round-trip more than 200 miles, plus reasonable and pre-approved cost for ground transportation for the crew; $120 expense allowance for each umpire and four hotel rooms for series requiring overnight stay; and $25 airport parking allowance also provided. The Big 12 office will pay game officials directly after verification of assignments from the coordinator.

Umpires who are on site if a series is cancelled due to inclement weather (or other factors) will receive full payment of fees. Officials will not be paid if a series is cancelled and they are notified of such prior to departure for the site.

COMPENSATION RESPONSIBILITIES Immediately after the assigned series, umpires will contact the Coordinator (Monday) who will submit expense reimbursements on Arbiter RefPay on behalf of the Conference office. Airline tickets (copy of passenger receipt) should be sent to the Coordinator as soon as the ticket(s) is purchased.

NOTIFICATION The home school shall be responsible for notifying the Coordinator immediately of any changes in games (i.e., times, dates, facilities).

EVALUATION OF UMPIRES The information gathered from various evaluation sources shall be used by the Coordinator of Umpires as a factor in determining the general qualification of an umpire for future assignments. There will be an observer in attendance at all Big 12 Conference games.

AREAS OF EVALUATION The Coordinator of Umpires will use several areas to evaluate umpires. Areas of evaluation may include: appearance, intensity level of umpire, consistency, firmness of call, hustle, timing, crew communication, mechanics, between inning procedure, rules questions/arguments, mound conferences, rules questions and adherence to the Conference code of conduct for umpires.

The Coordinator of Umpires will maintain a procedure for evaluating umpires with feedback from observers and crew chiefs, in addition to video evaluation. Game video may be provided to the Coordinator by the participating teams for the purpose of umpire evaluation.

The Coordinator of Umpires will develop a format for the evaluation of game officials to be presented to the coaches for their review and input. As part of the format, the Coordinator will assign an on-site observer to each Conference series. The observer is not part of the umpiring crew. The host institution is to provide the observer a seat in a climate-controlled environment, such as the press box, with an unobstructed view of the entire playing surface.

GAME OFFICIALS CONFIDENTIALITY Game officials, by the very nature of their duties, are placed in a position of being exposed to privileged information regarding personnel or activities of competing teams. Under no circumstances may a game official relay this privileged information regarding personnel or play of an institution’s team, or comments regarding officials or officiating of Conference games, to the general public, the media or personnel of another institution.

MEDIA STATEMENTS Officials should know the Conference post game pool reporter policy. In situations where a statement is warranted to explain a ruling in a game, the crew chief should attempt to contact the Coordinator or Conference office liaison prior to any statement. Requests will only be honored for rules interpretation questions, not judgment calls. A delayed statement is better than a quick, no response, answer.

GAME TICKETS Umpires are not permitted to request nor receive complimentary game tickets for Big 12 competition. Institutions will hold two tickets for each umpire for purchase until the Tuesday preceding a series. Umpires will contact the ticket manager directly and will be financially responsible for any tickets ordered.