Mark Baltz
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Mark Baltz is an American football official in the National Football League (NFL) since the 1989 NFL season. He has worked as a head linesman throughout his entire career in the NFL and has been assigned to 12 post-season games, including five conference championship games (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004). He wears the uniform number 26.
Baltz is a native of Lancaster, Ohio and a graduate of Ohio University, where he began his officiating career in 1967, while attending college, working both Ohio high school football and basketball games until 1970.
In 1971, Mark moved to Indiana and continued to officiate football and basketball games at the high school level where he worked two state championship games in football before moving to the college level in 1984. He continued to officiate high school basketball, as he was assigned to two state championship games in 1999 and 2003.
In 1984, Baltz joined the Mid-American Conference (Division I-A) where he served as referee (crew chief) until moving to the Big Ten Conference (Division I-A). In the Big Ten, he officiated in three bowl games as head linesman in his five years in the conference before being accepted to the NFL in 1989.
Along with his 12 post-season assignments in the NFL, Mark served as referee in NFL Europe for three seasons between 1999 and 2001 and served as Treasurer on the National Football League Referees Association (NFLRA) board beginning in June 2000.
Mark is married to Nicki, and have with two sons, Brett and Brandon. Outside of the NFL, Mark serves on the Indiana Officials Association board and is self-employed as a sales consultant and is a public speaker. He resides in Zionsville, Indiana.
For the 2006 NFL season, Baltz is a head linesman on the officiating crew headed by referee Larry Nemmers.
