Paronto Selected to the 17th Induction Class of College Baseball Hall of Fame

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The College Baseball Foundation has announced 11 standouts, including former Mountain West Coordinator of Umpires Jim Paronto, will be inducted as part of the 2024 class of the College Baseball Hall of Fame.

The class is comprised of seven players, three coaches and an umpire – all who have contributed to college baseball history at the NCAA, NAIA and NJCAA levels.

Paronto will be inducted posthumously with the 17th induction class of the College Baseball Hall of Fame.

For more than five decades, Paronto served the game of baseball as an umpire, coach, administrator and one of the nation’s foremost baseball rules experts. Paronto was a longtime baseball umpire serving the Mountain West, Pac-12, WAC and Junior College World Series.

He worked the JUCO World Series 15 times and the Connie Mack World Series five times. He served as the coordinator of umpires for the Mountain West (2003-21), Scenic West, and Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (2015-22).

He became the NCAA Baseball Rules Secretary in 2003 and served in that role until 2015. In addition, Paronto served as a teacher, coach and administrator his entire adult life.

He received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Adams State College and a Doctorate of Education in Athletic Administration from Brigham Young University.

Paronto taught and coached high school football and baseball in El Centro, California and Monte Vista, Colorado. Paronto served as head coach of the Adams State baseball program in addition to serving as an associate athletic director (1973-76) and eventually athletic director (1977-80) for the institution.

He became head baseball coach at Adams State in 1972. In 1981, he left his alma mater for BYU where he served on the Sport and Physical Education staff as well as being the assistant football coach.

From 1985-1987, he served as assistant football coach at Oregon State University. In 1987 he coached and taught at Grand Junction Central High School. In 1990, he became the head football coach and Assistant Athletic Director at Colorado Mesa (then Mesa State College) and eventually its Athletic Director from 1994-98.