Cardinals Looking for Rich Experience in Costa Rica

The Ball State men's basketball team departs Tuesday for a week-long basketball and cultural excursion to Costa Rica.

The Cardinals will play three games in the capital city of San Jose, see some of the most beautiful areas the country has to offer and visit children at a local orphanage.

The entire opportunity, and the practices that have led up to it, provide a jump-start to the 2019-20 season for a Ball State team that will look a little different than it has in recent years.

The NCAA allows teams to take a summer foreign trip every four years. This is the Cardinals' first opportunity since their trip to the Bahamas in 2015.

Ball State will play once against the Costa Rica Select team and twice against the University of Ottawa, which perennially fields one of the best collegiate squads in Canada.

It promises to be a week of fun and team-building for the Cardinals in a country that ranks No. 1 in the world in the Happy Planet Index. Costa Rica also features the oldest democracy in Latin America.

Costa Rica sits close to the equator and has a temperate climate year-round with highs in the low 80s and lows in the mid 60s year round. Only Panama is further South among Central American countries.

Costa Rica is two hours behind Muncie as a Central time zone country that does not observe daylight savings. All times on the schedule below are local to Costa Rica.

To keep up with the Cardinals throughout the trip, follow the team on Twitter and Instagram (@BallStateMBB) and visit the men's basketball page at ballstatesports.com.

COSTA RICA TRIP SCHEDULE

Tuesday, July 30
Arrive in San Jose

Wed., July 31
Main Activity – Tour La Paz Waterfall Gardens
Game – 8 p.m. vs. Costa Rica Select at Ciudad Deportiva

Thurs., Aug. 1
Main Activity – Visit Holy Spirit Orphanage
Game – 4 p.m. vs. University of Ottawa at Ciudad Deportiva

Fri., Aug. 2
Main Activity – Guided tour of San Jose
Game – 4 p.m. vs. University of Ottawa at Ciudad Deportiva

Sat., Aug. 3
Morning – Depart for Los Suenos
Evening – Visit Jaco Beach

Sun., Aug. 4
Main Activity – Zip Line Canopy Tour

Mon., Aug. 5
Travel home to Muncie

Cardinals Looking for Rich Experience in Costa Rica

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