BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com

WICHITA — Longtime Great Bend baseball umpire Randy Wetzel was recently honored by his induction into the Kansas Collegiate Officials Hall of Fame. Wetzel serves as the assistant principal at Great Bend High School.
A banquet was conducted March 3 and the induction ceremony was held March 4 in Wichita. Other Hall of Fame inductees were Marcia Alterman and Tom Stephan.
“I was really surprised,” Wetzel said. “I never saw myself as good enough to be included with some of those Hall of Fame names.”
Wetzel worked as an NCAA Division 1 baseball umpire for 35 years and umpired at the 2011 College Baseball World Series. Wetzel umpired Missouri Valley Conference and Big 10 baseball. He officiated basketball in the KCAC and Jayhawk Conference and officiated football in the MIAA, RMAC, KCAC and Jayhawk Conference.
In 2011, Wetzel worked the College World Series on Father’s Day. His wife Brenda and Wetzel’s parents, Ed and Helen, watched him work at T.D. Ameritrade Park in Omaha.
Wetzel met former President George W. Bush during the 2011 World Series. The 43rd president tossed out the ceremonial first pitch. Wetzel said chatting with the president calmed his pregame nerves.
“It’s a memory that will last a lifetime,” Wetzel said. “President Bush was very personable. He talked of his love of baseball and when he owned the Texas Rangers.”
Wetzel worked more than 120 Big 12 tournament games before retiring in 2014. He was profiled during a Big 12 television showcase feature.
“You need to have good judgment,” Wetzel said. “You have to have people skills because you’re dealing with people day-in, day-out, whether it’s your supervisor or the coaches. You’ve have to be a people-person.”
Wetzel said he enjoyed the baseball environment.
“I’ve met a lot of great people — the guys I worked with, the coaches and the fans,” Wetzel said. “They’re really great people you see off the field. The relationships you build over the years are really special.”
Wetzel earned a well-deserved reputation as an umpire with a calm approach.
“Randy is the ultimate professional,” said Gene McArtor, NCAA umpiring coordinator. “He is so calm and easy-going. Randy had that demeanor that seemed to diffuse every situation.”
Rich Fetcheit, Big 12 umpiring coordinator, said Wetzel’s style worked perfectly for him.
“Randy brings so many great qualities to the table,” said Fetcheit. “You have to be technically sound, know the rules and mechanics. The thing that’s most important is to communicate and handle tough situations. Randy brings a great calm to the field, both to the coaches and his fellow umpires. He calms everyone around him.”
The Kansas Collegiate Officials Hall of Fame Selection Committee serves collegiate officials by providing leadership through the selection process for those who have achieved standards set by the by-laws. The KCOHOF is a collegiate officials-centered organization.