Ball State Cardinals

Last updated
Ball State Cardinals
Ball State Cardinals logo.svg
UniversityBall State University
Conference MAC (primary)
MIVA (men's volleyball)
MVC (men's swimming & diving)
NCAA Division I (FBS)
Athletic directorJeff Mitchell
Location Muncie, Indiana
Varsity teams18
Football stadium Scheumann Stadium
Basketball arena Worthen Arena
Baseball stadium Ball Diamond
MascotCharlie Cardinal
NicknameCardinals
Fight songFight, Team, Fight
ColorsCardinal and white [1]
   
Website ballstatesports.com
Ballstate cardinals wordmark 2015.png

The Ball State Cardinals are the athletic teams that represent Ball State University, located in Muncie, Indiana. The Cardinals are part of the NCAA Division I Mid-American Conference. Charlie Cardinal is the team mascot.

Contents

The Ball State University Pride of Mid-America Marching Band performs at all home football games, many home basketball games, and various other athletic and spirit events across campus.

Nickname

Previously known as the Hoosieroons, the university fell out of favor with the nickname. Then-President L.A. Pittenger told The Easterner, Ball State's newspaper, "[Hoosieroons] is entirely too long", while football assistant coach (and future head coach) Paul B. Parker said, "Hoosieroons is a joke over the state." In 1927, Pittenger led a committee that looked over a list of 45 names—including Goblins, Steamers, Fleet-foot Warriors, Muncie Gleaners, Magicians, Fighting Normalites, and Scrappin' Teachers—all 45 of which were rejected.

On the morning of November 30, a meeting between then-athletic director Paul "Billy" Williams and head football coach Norman G. Wann led to the pair coming up with the idea for the "Cardinals" nickname after seeing a St. Louis Cardinals sweatshirt. They inferred the nickname would work well as the cardinal was the state bird of Indiana. In a student body vote, "Cardinals" won in a landslide with 234 votes out of 500 (77 votes going to "Hoosieroons"). Ball State athletic teams promptly adopted the nickname, and have been known as the "Cardinals" since. [2]

Sports sponsored

A member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC), Ball State sponsors teams in seven men's and 12 women's NCAA sanctioned sports. [3] The men's volleyball team is a member of the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association. Men's swimming & diving moved from the MAC to the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) when sponsorship of that sport transferred from the MAC to the MVC in 2024–25. [4]

Ball State is a member of the Mid-American Conference MAC logo in Ball State colors.svg
Ball State is a member of the Mid-American Conference
Men's sportsWomen's sports
Baseball Basketball
Basketball Cross country
Football Field hockey
GolfGolf
Swimming & divingGymnastics
TennisSoccer
VolleyballSoftball
Swimming & diving
Tennis
Track and field
Volleyball
† – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor.

Football

Ball State v Army game in 2014 Army vs. Ball State (15253968780).jpg
Ball State v Army game in 2014

The Ball State Cardinals compete in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the Mid-American Conference. It had been a member of the conference's West Division in football from the start of divisional play in 1997 until divisions were eliminated after the 2023 season. The current head coach is Mike Neu. [5] The Cardinals play at Scheumann Stadium.

On October 5, 2008, Ball State was ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 poll for the first time in team history, and reached a ranking as high as 12th in the nation during the course of the season. Ball State completed the 2008 regular season with a record of 12–0 and a conference record of 8–0. They won the MAC West Division championship before falling to Buffalo in the MAC Championship at Ford Field in Detroit. Shortly after the departure of head coach Brady Hoke, Ball State lost to the University of Tulsa in the GMAC Bowl on January 6, 2009, by a score of 45–13.

Bowl games

The Cardinals have gone to eight Division I bowl games. They have a 1–8 record in these games, with their last appearance being a 51–20 loss to Georgia State in the Camellia Bowl.

DateBowl gameWinnerLoser
December 9, 1989 California Bowl Fresno State 27Ball State6
December 17, 1993 Las Vegas Bowl Utah State 42Ball State33
December 18, 1996 Las Vegas Bowl Nevada 18Ball State15
January 5, 2008 International Bowl Rutgers 52Ball State30
January 6, 2009 GMAC Bowl Tulsa 45Ball State13
December 21, 2012 Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl UCF 38Ball State17
January 5, 2014 GoDaddy Bowl Arkansas State 23Ball State20
December 31, 2020 Arizona Bowl Ball State34 San Jose State 13
December 25, 2021 Camellia Bowl Georgia State 51Ball State20

Men's basketball

Ball State (in black) v Franz Wagner game, Franz Wagner floater vs Ball State.jpg
Ball State (in black) v Franz Wagner game,

The Cardinals first basketball season was 1920–21. The school's team currently competes in the Mid-American Conference. The team last played in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 2000.

The Cardinals have had various levels of success throughout their 94 seasons of competition. Although there was little success in the program from its start until the 1970s, the next two decades would be the highlight of the program's performance. Ball State became a sporadic leader in the Mid-American Conference, winning a record seven MAC tournaments between 1981 and 2000. The Cardinals also accomplished a large feat during the 2001 Maui Invitational Tournament, when they upset #4 Kansas and #3 UCLA on consecutive days. In 2017, the Cardinals beat #8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Purcell Pavilion by a score of 80-77, breaking a sixteen year drought against ranked teams.

Women's basketball

The Ball State Cardinals' women's basketball team won their first MAC tournament in 2009 and subsequently went to their first-ever NCAA Tournament. In the first round, they beat the Tennessee Lady Volunteers 71–55 in Bowling Green, Kentucky. 12th-seeded Ball State's win over 5th-seeded Tennessee was the Lady Volunteers' first first-round loss in the 28-year history of the women's NCAA Tournament. The Cardinals earned a lot of attention for their historic first round win and briefly became the Cinderella, feel-good story of the NCAA Tournament before losing to the Iowa State Cyclones 57–71 in the second round. On March 21, 2012, head coach Kelly Packard resigned [6] On May 12, 2012, Brady Sallee, the former coach at Eastern Illinois University, was named the eleventh head coach in the program's history. [7]

Baseball

The Ball State baseball team plays in the MAC West Division. They play on Ball Diamond. Their head coach is Rich Maloney, who formerly coached the Cardinals, with an extended stint with the University of Michigan in between. The team began play in 1918. The Cardinals have had 8 players drafted in the first round of the Major League Baseball Draft. Their most notable alumni though is Mr. Jonny Cisna, the inventor of the term launch angle.

Softball

Ball State's softball team has appeared in two Women's College World Series, in 1973 and 1975. [8]

Fight song

The "Ball State Fight Song" was written by Carl Hofer in 1930. The lyrics go:

Fight team fight for Ball State

We must win this game

Onward now you Cardinals

Bring glory to your name

Fight! Fight! Fight!

Here's to both our colors

Cardinal and White

Praying for a victory

So fight, fight, fight!

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brady Sallee</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015–16 Ball State Cardinals women's basketball team</span> Intercollegiate basketball season

The 2015–16 Ball State Cardinals women's basketball team represented Ball State University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Cardinals, led by fourth-year head coach Brady Sallee, played their home games at Worthen Arena as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). They finished the season 22–10, 13–5 in MAC play, and finished the season in second place in the West Division. They lost in the quarterfinals of the MAC women's tournament to Eastern Michigan. They were invited to the Women's National Invitation Tournament, where they defeated Iowa Hawkeyes in the first round before losing in the second round to Saint Louis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017–18 Ball State Cardinals women's basketball team</span> Intercollegiate basketball season

The 2017–18 Ball State Cardinals women's basketball team represented Ball State University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship season. The Cardinals, led by sixth year head coach Brady Sallee, played their home games at Worthen Arena as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 25–7, 13–5 in MAC play to finish in second place in the West Division. They lost in the quarterfinals of the MAC women's tournament to Western Michigan. They received an automatic bid to the Women's National Invitation Tournament, where they defeated Middle Tennessee in the first round before losing in the second round to Purdue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018–19 Ball State Cardinals women's basketball team</span> Intercollegiate basketball season

The 2018–19 Ball State Cardinals women's basketball team represented Ball State University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Cardinals, led by seventh year head coach Brady Sallee, played their home games at Worthen Arena as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. They seeked to qualify for the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament for the second time and the first time since 2009 but they finished the season 8–23, 3–15 in MAC play to finish in last place in the West Division. They lost in the first of the MAC women's tournament to Toledo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020–21 Ball State Cardinals women's basketball team</span> Intercollegiate basketball season

The 2020–21 Ball State Cardinals women's basketball team represent Ball State University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Cardinals, led by ninth-year head coach Brady Sallee, play their home games at Worthen Arena as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023–24 Ball State Cardinals women's basketball team</span> Intercollegiate basketball season

The 2023–24 Ball State Cardinals women's basketball team represented Ball State University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Cardinals, led by 12th year head coach Brady Sallee, played their home games at the Worthen Arena in Muncie, Indiana as a member of the Mid-American Conference.

References

  1. "Brand Colors - Ball State University" . Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  2. ""Cardinals" New Name for Teams". The Easterner. December 2, 1927. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  3. "(Cardinal logo) Ball State Cardinals". Ball State University. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
  4. "MVC To Sponsor Men's Swimming & Diving in 2024-25" (Press release). Missouri Valley Conference. April 11, 2024. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  5. "Ball State Athletics". ballstatesports.com. Retrieved 2017-09-27.
  6. St. Myer, Thomas (March 21, 2012). "Kelly Packard resigns as Ball State women's basketball coach". The Star Press.
  7. "Brady Sallee Named Head Women's Basketball Coach - Ball State University Athletics".
  8. Plummer, William; Floyd, Larry C. (2013). A Series Of Their Own: History Of The Women's College World Series. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States: Turnkey Communications Inc. ISBN   978-0-9893007-0-4.

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