Brock-
Hey bro, I'm in Bloomington, so not very far from you. I actually went that route and tried to make it into the pro game. You have to go to either Jim Evans or Harry Wendlestat's school. It's 5 weeks long, and they send the top 10% or so to work Spring Break college games, where they evaluate the students from both schools that made the cut. Then they offer as many jobs as there are available. If you don't make it, you have to go back to school the next year, if you want to try it again. Starting salary for rookie umpires is only $2,000 a month, and you only get paid for the months of the baseball season. Give them about 5-8 good years, and if you don't get let go, you'll be in Triple-A, making about $3,000 a month. Then, after 5-6 more years, a job in the majors may come available, and a Triple A guy will get hired. Triple A guys work some big league games when the big league umpires are on a vacation week, but it's very, very tough to actually become a MLB umpire. And if you look at some of the recent hires, Brian Runge, Hunter Wendlestat, etc, you can't tell me that politics aren't involved. Both of their dads were MLB umpires. So, most people give 10-12 years making no money, and then realize that it's not going to happen, and start another career. But I have some friends still in the minors, hoping that they will get the call someday. I wouldn't recommend it, but I can let you know more, if you are interested. College is a much better road to go, although I burned out, and don't have any plans to get back into it.