Soccer Hall of Famer Seitz, NFL Analyst Pereira Headline Officiate Michigan Day 2026

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

July 14, 2026

Officiate Michigan Day 2026 will welcome more than 1,000 Michigan High School Athletic Association-registered game officials July 25 to DeVos Place in Grand Rapids, where they will receive knowledge and instruction from several high-profile voices headlined by recent National Soccer Hall of Fame inductee Kari Seitz – a Brighton High School graduate – and one of television’s most recognizable rules analysts, Mike Pereira.

Officiate Michigan Day is designed to benefit officials with any level of experience, veteran to beginner. High-profile clinicians representing several sports and all levels including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA, FIFA and the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) will provide face-to-face training during four sport-specific breakout sessions throughout the conference.

Pereira, a past collegiate and NFL football official who also has served as the NFL’s vice president of officiating, will present the opening address at 9 a.m. He has provided his knowledge during FOX Sports football broadcasts since 2010, explaining rules scenarios on-air as situations unfold in-game. 

Seitz, also a graduate of Michigan State University, refereed Women’s World Cups in 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011 and Olympics tournaments in 2004, 2008 and 2012, and will deliver the conference’s closing message. She’s currently the vice president of refereeing for U.S. Soccer and formerly served as FIFA’s heading of refereeing.

This will be the third Officiate Michigan Day, joining events in 2013 and 2018. OMD 2026 will accompany the annual National Association of Sports Officials (NASO) Summit that will take place July 26-28, also at DeVos Place.

Officials may continue to register on the Officials page. Cost is $50. Additional details, including the full lineup of speakers and clinicians, also is available at that link.

Be the Referee: Baseball Pitch Count

By Paige Winne
MHSAA Marketing & Social Media Coordinator

May 7, 2024

Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.

Below is this week's segment – Baseball Pitch Count - Listen

Do you know the pitch count limits for high school baseball in Michigan?

  • If a pitcher throws 25 pitches or less, he can throw again the next day with no rest.
  • If 26 to 50 pitches are thrown, one day of rest is required.
  • 51 to 75 pitches require two days of rest.
  • And throwing 76 or more pitches requires three days of rest.

The maximum pitch count for one day is 105 pitches. But if pitch number 105 occurs during the middle of an at-bat, the pitcher can finish that at-bat, but then must be taken out.

Teams are required to track all pitch counts and indicate before a game who is ineligible to pitch that day.

In the postseason, a neutral person tracks the pitch count. If a violation occurs, the pitcher becomes ineligible, and his team forfeits the game he pitched in.

Previous Editions

April 30: Boys Lacrosse Helmets - Listen
April 23: Softball Interference - Listen
April 16: Soccer Red Card - Listen
April 9: Batted Baseball Hits Runner - Listen
March 12: Basketball Replay - Listen
March 5: Hockey Officials - Listen
Feb. 27: Less Than 5 - Listen
Feb. 20: Air Ball - Listen
Feb. 13: Hockey Penalties - Listen
Jan. 30: Wrestling Tiebreakers - Listen
Jan. 23: Wrestling Technology - Listen
Jan. 9: 3 Seconds - Listen
Dec. 19: Unsuspecting Hockey Hits - Listen
Dec. 12: No More One-And-Ones - Listen
Nov. 21: Football Finals Replay - Listen
Nov. 14: Volleyball Unplayable Areas - Listen
Nov. 7: Pass/Kick Off Crossbar - Listen
Oct. 31: Cross Country Interference - Listen
Oct. 24: Soccer Overtime - Listen
Oct. 17: Tennis Spin - Listen
Oct. 10: Blocked Kick - Listen
Oct. 3: Volleyball Double & Lift - Listen
Sept. 26: Registration Process - Listen
Sept. 20: Animal Interference - Listen
Sept. 13: Feet Rule on Soccer Throw-In - Listen
Sept. 6: Volleyball Jewelry - Listen
Aug. 30: Football Rules Similarities - Listen
Aug. 23: Football Rules Differences - Listen