DENVER - The Western Athletic Conference has announced that Dave Yeast has been hired as Coordinator of Baseball Umpires.
Yeast, who served as NCAA National Coordinator of Baseball Umpires from 1996-2008, recently concluded his first season as Coordinator of Baseball Officiating for the Pac-12 and the Big West Conferences. He also served as the conference umpire coordinator for the Missouri Valley Conference from 1990-94, Metro Conference from 1993-95 and Conference USA from 1996-99.
"Dave brings a wealth of experience to the WAC, and he was selected from an extremely strong field of candidates,†said WAC commissioner Jeff Hurd. “Very few individuals can match his collegiate baseball background, both on and off the field, and I am thrilled that he has agreed to lead the WAC's baseball umpiring program."
On the field, he worked as an umpire at the College World Series in 1991 and 1995 and officiated 15 regionals or super regionals. He spent time on the staff of the Big 12, Metro, Missouri Valley, Mountain West, Southeastern, Pac-12, Western Athletic, and West Coast Conferences before moving into a strictly administrative role following the 2015 season.
"I am honored to work with the WAC staff, our coaches and umpires to continue to improve our officiating," said Yeast. "Having worked with many of the umpires on staff, I know the level of professionalism and baseball experience they bring and I hope to be a strong resource for the conference."
Yeast was an umpire for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, the 1990 IBAF World Championships in Edmonton, Canada and the IBAF Intercontinental Cups in Parma, Italy (1993) and Sydney, Australia (1999). In addition to his extensive baseball officiating career, he served as an Instant Replay Communicator for the National Football League from 2008-15.
A graduate of University of Tulsa, where he was a member of the baseball team, he has worked for ArbiterSports in Sandy, Utah since 2009 and is currently the Vice President of Officiating Education, working with national and state governing bodies to develop and distribute officiating training programs.