Be the Referee: Playoff Selection
October 7, 2015
This week, MHSAA assistant director Mark Uyl explains how officials are chosen to work football playoff games.
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 - Playoff Selection - Listen
As the regular season reaches the halfway point, the MHSAA begins to look ahead to the five weeks of the football playoffs. Crews and officials are selected at mid-season for the tournament based on a number of factors.
Each official receives a rating from both schools following every game worked, and this rating average serves as the starting point for selection with the highest rated crews being considered first. The MHSAA also considers experience of the crew, recommendations for leagues and officials associations, football rule exam score (from a test) each official completes as well as the strength of the schedule the crew has worked during the season.
All of these factors are considered when selecting the very best officials to work the most important games of the season.
Be the Referee: Baseball Pitch Count
By
Paige Winne
MHSAA Marketing & Social Media Coordinator
June 10, 2025
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 more than 25 but 50 or less 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 2024-25 Editions
June 3: Soccer Overtime - Listen
May 28: Track & Field False Starts & Restarts - Listen
May 21: Fixed Obstruction in Tennis - Listen
May 13: Golf Cart Path Roll - Listen
May 6: Illegal Softball Bats - Listen
April 30: Golf Relief - Listen
April 22: Soccer Scoring Area Penalty - Listen
April 15: Fair or Foul? - Listen
April 8: Girls Lacrosse New Stoppage Rule - Listen
April 1: Base Runner Interference - Listen
March 25: Pine Tar Usage - Listen
March 11: Basketball Replay - Listen
March 4: Gymnastics Deduction - Listen
Feb. 25: Competitive Cheer Inversion - Listen
Feb. 18: Ice Hockey Delay of Game - Listen
Feb. 11: Ski Helmets - Listen
Feb. 4: Wrestling In Bounds or Out? - Listen
Jan. 21: Block or Charge? - Listen
Jan. 14: Out of Bounds, In Play - Listen
Jan. 7: Wrestling Scoring - Listen
Dec. 17: Bowling Ball Rules - Listen
Dec. 10: Neck Laceration Protector - Listen
Dec. 3: Basketball Goaltending - Listen
Nov. 26: 11-Player Finals Replay - Listen
Nov. 19: 8-Player vs. 11-Player Football - Listen
Nov. 12: Back Row Setter - Listen
Nov. 5: Football OT - Listen
Oct. 29: Officials Registration - Listen
Oct. 22: Volleyball Serve - Listen
Oct. 15: "You Make the Call" - Soccer Offside - Listen
Oct. 8: Roughing the Passer - Listen
Oct. 1: Abnormal Course Condition - Listen
Sept. 25: Tennis Nets - Listen
Sept. 18: Libero - Listen
Sept. 10: Cross Country Uniforms - Listen
Sept. 3: Soccer Handling - Listen
Aug. 24: Football Holding - Listen