Rich Fetchiet, a 45‑year veteran umpire who spent three decades as the Big Ten Coordinator of Baseball Officials, announced his retirement this week, bringing to a close a career that spanned more than three decades of collegiate baseball.
Fetchiet entered the Big Ten in 1995 and over the next 31 years coordinated officials for eleven different collegiate conferences, overseeing some of the sport’s most high‑profile events, including the 1999 Men’s College World Series championship game and the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.
His excellence was recognized with the Gold Whistle Award from the National Association of Sports Officials, and he was later inducted into both the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame and the College Baseball Hall of Fame, cementing his legacy as one of the game’s most respected officials.
A Successor With Deep Roots
Mark Uyl, a former Big Ten umpire who has officiated at multiple College World Series and contributed to the training of over 1,400 members of the Collegiate Baseball Umpires Alliance, will assume the coordinator role. Uyl’s experience includes assisting with the Big Ten Baseball Tournament and mentoring the next generation of officials.
The transition marks the end of an era for the Big Ten’s baseball officiating staff while signaling a continuation of the conference’s commitment to elite umpiring standards.