CBUA Umpires,

First, thank you to the 350+ of you who responded promptly with your 2015 CBUA registration form and check. I'm depositing checks weekly so you know your registration has been received.

REGISTRATION DEADLINE FAST APPROACHING--If you have not mailed your 2015 CBUA registration form and check, please do so now--there will be a significant late fee for returning members who register after October 1. Send your registration and check or money order payable to CBUA using REGULAR MAIL. I will not stand in line to pick up your fed ex package, etc. and I'm not home to sign for deliveries. Registration information is attached and can also be found in the Bulletins section of our web site at: www.cbua.arbitersports.com/

What happens to my CBUA registration fee and when will my new NCAA registration be activated? After October 1, we delete all 2014 CBUA members from our roster who have not registered for 2015. We make sure all new members have been added to our roster. When the NCAA officially opens the 2015 baseball umpire registration period (typically in October or November), we immediately register all our umpires and pay their $125 full registration fee.

When do I get my new NCAA Baseball Rule Book and CCA Manual? Typically, Arbiter Sports ships those items to registered umpires late December/early January.

When/how do I pay the NAIA registration fee if I'm interested in being considered for NAIA assignments? This is all new for 2015 and the only information I have so far is posted in the Bulletins section of our web site. My understanding is that some time late fall/early winter (after NCAA registrations are set on Arbiter), you will be able to go into the system and pay your fee if you are interested in NAIA baseball. I will share information as I receive it.

How do I register for the NCAA Umpire Clinic? You can register on the NCAA Central Hub web site. We will be meeting in Chicago on January 17, 2015. You should plan on being at this NCAA meeting and plan on staying for an extra educational session at the end of the day--please do not plan your departure prior to 7:00 p.m. You are not required to stay at the Westin O'Hare; however, information on the NCAA room rate, etc. is on the NCAA Central Hub. You are responsible for your own travel and accommodations. (Special note to Big 12 Conference umpires--I will be arranging your hotel rooms for you at a later date.)

What has Fetch been doing since the end of the 2014 season? After attending the Coordinator's/Liaison's meeting in Omaha during the CWS, I spent most of June and July compiling conference umpire rankings and submitting extensive year-end reports to all of the D-I conferences I coordinate. Also, during the summer I submitted compensation proposals to every conference (all levels) that I coordinate. During August and September, I've attended conference meetings with head coaches, ADs, administrators and commissioners as follows . . . Summit League--conference call; Horizon League--Rochester, Michigan; Mid-American Conference--Cleveland, Ohio; Missouri Valley Conference--St. Louis, Missouri; American Athletic Conference--conference call; Big Ten Conference--Chicago, Illinois; Conference USA--conference call; Big 12 Conference--Tulsa, Oklahoma. Throughout the summer months I also did some spot checking and evaluating of umpires working summer baseball throughout the midwest. This fall I have been able to be a small part of a few umpire camps/clinics . . . last weekend in Springfield, Missouri; this coming weekend in Grand Rapids, Michigan; and next month in Springfield, Illinois. Simply stated--I have been extremely impressed by the abilities of a great number of umpires and the quality of instruction that I've seen this summer and fall--kudos to one and all for your hard work.

Since the end of the 2014 season there have been several administrative changes throughout college baseball--it seems more than any other year I remember. Special congrats and best wishes to long-time CBUA member, George Drouches, as he begins his tenure as the NCAA Division I National Umpire Coordinator. Congrats also to CBUA umpire, Scott Taylor, as he begins his role as Coordinator for the GLVC.

There have also been a number of Division I Coordinator adjustments around the country and several conferences in the northeast are currently reviewing RFPs for their respective leadership positions. Several conferences have had changes in their institutional memberships and it seems that the only constant in college baseball umpiring is change. With this in mind I thought I'd share some thoughts with you from one of the great philosophers, Marcus Aurelius. Reading on is optional; however, if you do read on, think about how these centuries-old philosophical statements relate to umpiring today and how you think and act on a personal basis.

*Never consider anything to be beneficial to you which could ever compel you to violate your faith in yourself, to abandon your modesty, to hate anybody, to be overly suspicious or disingenuous, or to lust after anything which must be hidden.

*Wisdom and right action are the same thing.

*Whenever you notice someone else going astray, immediately examine how you yourself have gone astray.

*Kindness is unconquerable, so long as it is without flattery or hypocrisy. For what can the most insolent man do to you if you continue to be kind to him.

*If someone is able to show me that what I think or do is wrong, I will happily change, for I seek the truth, by which no one ever was truly harmed.

*The noblest way of taking revenge on others is by refusing to be like them.

The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius show extraordinary insight and humility and his words transcend boundaries. He values inner strength, dignity and self-respect. He reminds us that we are made better by confronting difficult situations with resolution and courage and that our most important goal should be our own private quest for perfection. Stop philosophizing about what a good man is and be one.

Wow! I think Fetch has lost his mind. Hmmm . . . Perhaps . . . or is he trying to tell us something that will make us better umpires and better people.