Ball State University Athletics
Photo by: Samantha Blankenship / Ball State University
A Letter From Director of Athletics Jeff Mitchell: Celebrate Ball State!
March 20, 2024 | General, Cardinal Varsity Club
Ball State athletics enjoys championship success, record-setting academic achievement, enhanced gameday experiences, and increased fundraising for facility improvements
Dear Cardinals:
Postseason basketball tournaments come at a time during the academic and sports calendar when athletics departments begin to evaluate successes and challenges, celebrate victories, and take stock of ways to improve. As I cheered for our women's basketball team at the MAC Tournament in Cleveland last weekend, I paused to reflect on my first year leading the Ball State athletics department. The timing was perfect as I was in Cleveland a year ago for the conference basketball tournament in what was my first Ball State event before officially beginning my time in Muncie on March 20, 2023.
I am proud of the significant success we have achieved this year while recognizing the firm foundation paved before my arrival. As our victories mount, I grow increasingly more excited about the potential of our department and institution – from our excellent staff to our enhanced support for student-athlete well-being to preparing for essential facility improvements to the goal of winning more championships and dominating the MAC.
We enjoy success because we win with our people. Within our department, we foster a culture of positivity and helpfulness guided by effective communication and a growth mindset. During the past year, we restructured and revitalized our staff with 28 full-time hires, including six newly created positions. We increased our efficiency in marketing, communications, ticketing, gameday operations and championship performance. We rounded out various coaching staffs with new hires, and we welcomed two new head coaches in Sachin Kirtane (women's tennis) and Helen Peña (softball).
Highlighting our competitive success in the past 12 months, the Cardinals won six conference titles (regular season or tournament) in baseball, men's volleyball, women's tennis, outdoor track and back-to-back titles for women's gymnastics. In that same time frame, Ball State teams appeared in 11 postseason championships: in women's volleyball, gymnastics, women's tennis, baseball, cross country, men's and women's swimming and diving, indoor and outdoor track and field, women's basketball and men's golf. On the brightest stage, Charity Griffith claimed the high jump national championship last June, while teammate Jenelle Rogers joined her as an All-American in the outdoor heptathlon and, again this winter, was national runner-up in the indoor pentathlon.
Since last March, our competitive excellence produced six All-Americans, three MAC players of the year, and two regional coaches of the year, Joanna Saleem (gymnastics) and Adrian Wheatley (track and field). Our programs also produced 55 all-conference student-athletes. These remarkable outcomes directly contributed to Ball State finishing first and second in the Jacoby and Reese Trophy standings representing the league's top women's and men's athletics programs for the 2022-23 season, and our department ranked in the top 25 percent of all NCAA Division I programs in the final standings of the prestigious LEARFIELD Directors' Cup. Ball State was the only MAC school ranked in the top 100 of Directors' Cup final standings.
Our student-athletes' academic achievements matched their competitive success the past two semesters as they posted program-record cumulative GPAs in both the 2023 fall term (3.44) and 2023 spring term (3.43). Cardinal student-athletes have combined for a term GPA of 3.40 or better in five consecutive semesters, and the fall 2023 term saw our student-athletes register a department first as each of our 19 teams recorded over a 3.0 GPA. This level of academic excellence was recognized by the MAC in May 2023 as Ball State received the Institutional Academic Achievement Award for the highest academic performance by a member school. Combining our academic and athletic success, Ball State became the first MAC institution in the history of the league to receive the Institutional Academic Achievement Award and secure a first and second place finish in both the Jacoby and Reese Trophy rankings.
Our success does not happen without the continued participation of our loyal alumni, friends, and fans who attend games, cheer for our teams, and invest in our programs for the benefit of our 450 student-athletes. Without your support, our coaches cannot continue to recruit at the level needed to compete for MAC championships and help promote the Ball State brand regionally and nationally.
Over the last 12 months, our university and community benefactors helped us either plan for or complete numerous facility enhancements aided by $3.2 million in structural and aesthetic improvements. Highlighting this list are new playing surfaces for field hockey and tennis, a new flooring system in the football weight room in the Venderly Team Center, new graphics at Schuemann Stadium and in the Venderly Team Center, new graphics for men's and women's basketball in Worthen Arena and new graphics in the hallways of locker-room areas in Worthen Arena. We added a scoreboard at the Foster Adams Family Tennis Complex and a new videoboard at the Ball Diamond at First Merchants Bank Ballpark Complex. Also, we finalized plans for a summer installation of a much-needed seating upgrade inside Worthen Arena which will raise the profile of the basketball and volleyball fan experience.
As part of the University's Call to Beneficence Campaign, athletics fundraised nearly $6.7 million in the past year – $4 million of which is earmarked for a new Championship Performance Center which will house a power and speed laboratory to enhance strength and conditioning. This is a critically important project for the future of our department. We have more fundraising to do to make this facility a reality and meet our goal of a January 2026 grand opening. I often say that we must build our own momentum, and this project is an example of us doing just that!
As we promote enjoyable gameday environments for our fans and create a true home venue advantage for our teams, we continue to elevate game presentations across all sports. We debuted upgraded videoboards for football and baseball and introduced new fan experiences to raise energy and hype before and during games at Schuemann Stadium and in Worthen Arena. We offered enhanced premium seat experiences at football games with improved traditional suite amenities along with our four new north endzone luxury outdoor suites while we added 60 courtside seats at both men's and women's basketball games. These new opportunities generated more than $230,000 to help us better support our talented student-athletes. Our efforts to increase attendance have led to record ticket sales and revenue for gymnastics, women's basketball, and women's volleyball, and we project a new revenue record for men's volleyball by this season's end.
Creating memorable events is an ongoing endeavor. The Cardinals are Muncie's team, and we continue to market to Muncie and the east central Indiana region. We improved our Bird Feed sales e-mails, increased our outbound sales methods, and overhauled our social media branding and strategy. We designed and introduced our weekly podcast called This Week in Ball State Sports, which keeps our fans updated about Cardinal athletics. New enthusiasm within our department has enhanced communication with campus partners and has fostered new relationships with our student body. The new student organization known as Cardinal Chaos now aids our effort to promote athletics to the student community. The potential of this student-led initiative is enormous.
I am very grateful for the warm welcome that my family and I received in my first year at Ball State. We discovered what you already know – that Ball State exists as an institution of excellence which inspires our students to thrive and prepares our graduates to have fulfilling careers and meaningful lives. As for Ball State athletics, we are doubling down on our mission to develop leaders and winners. I am passionate about the growth of our people and the advancement of our programs.
To that end, I am asked frequently by fans how they can support the Cardinals. My answer is simple. You help us make excellence routine by purchasing season tickets, attending games, donating to the Cardinal Varsity Club, investing with us for new facility projects, supporting student-athletes in their pursuit of name, image, and likeness opportunities, and getting other alumni and friends to do the same. A great opportunity to demonstrate your love for Ball State is on April 3rd as we celebrate One Ball State Day. I invite you to click here and help contribute to our bright future!
Chirp! Chirp!
With appreciation and encouragement,
Jeff
JEFF MITCHELL
Director of Athletics
Ball State University
Postseason basketball tournaments come at a time during the academic and sports calendar when athletics departments begin to evaluate successes and challenges, celebrate victories, and take stock of ways to improve. As I cheered for our women's basketball team at the MAC Tournament in Cleveland last weekend, I paused to reflect on my first year leading the Ball State athletics department. The timing was perfect as I was in Cleveland a year ago for the conference basketball tournament in what was my first Ball State event before officially beginning my time in Muncie on March 20, 2023.
I am proud of the significant success we have achieved this year while recognizing the firm foundation paved before my arrival. As our victories mount, I grow increasingly more excited about the potential of our department and institution – from our excellent staff to our enhanced support for student-athlete well-being to preparing for essential facility improvements to the goal of winning more championships and dominating the MAC.
We enjoy success because we win with our people. Within our department, we foster a culture of positivity and helpfulness guided by effective communication and a growth mindset. During the past year, we restructured and revitalized our staff with 28 full-time hires, including six newly created positions. We increased our efficiency in marketing, communications, ticketing, gameday operations and championship performance. We rounded out various coaching staffs with new hires, and we welcomed two new head coaches in Sachin Kirtane (women's tennis) and Helen Peña (softball).
Highlighting our competitive success in the past 12 months, the Cardinals won six conference titles (regular season or tournament) in baseball, men's volleyball, women's tennis, outdoor track and back-to-back titles for women's gymnastics. In that same time frame, Ball State teams appeared in 11 postseason championships: in women's volleyball, gymnastics, women's tennis, baseball, cross country, men's and women's swimming and diving, indoor and outdoor track and field, women's basketball and men's golf. On the brightest stage, Charity Griffith claimed the high jump national championship last June, while teammate Jenelle Rogers joined her as an All-American in the outdoor heptathlon and, again this winter, was national runner-up in the indoor pentathlon.
Since last March, our competitive excellence produced six All-Americans, three MAC players of the year, and two regional coaches of the year, Joanna Saleem (gymnastics) and Adrian Wheatley (track and field). Our programs also produced 55 all-conference student-athletes. These remarkable outcomes directly contributed to Ball State finishing first and second in the Jacoby and Reese Trophy standings representing the league's top women's and men's athletics programs for the 2022-23 season, and our department ranked in the top 25 percent of all NCAA Division I programs in the final standings of the prestigious LEARFIELD Directors' Cup. Ball State was the only MAC school ranked in the top 100 of Directors' Cup final standings.
Our student-athletes' academic achievements matched their competitive success the past two semesters as they posted program-record cumulative GPAs in both the 2023 fall term (3.44) and 2023 spring term (3.43). Cardinal student-athletes have combined for a term GPA of 3.40 or better in five consecutive semesters, and the fall 2023 term saw our student-athletes register a department first as each of our 19 teams recorded over a 3.0 GPA. This level of academic excellence was recognized by the MAC in May 2023 as Ball State received the Institutional Academic Achievement Award for the highest academic performance by a member school. Combining our academic and athletic success, Ball State became the first MAC institution in the history of the league to receive the Institutional Academic Achievement Award and secure a first and second place finish in both the Jacoby and Reese Trophy rankings.
Our success does not happen without the continued participation of our loyal alumni, friends, and fans who attend games, cheer for our teams, and invest in our programs for the benefit of our 450 student-athletes. Without your support, our coaches cannot continue to recruit at the level needed to compete for MAC championships and help promote the Ball State brand regionally and nationally.
Over the last 12 months, our university and community benefactors helped us either plan for or complete numerous facility enhancements aided by $3.2 million in structural and aesthetic improvements. Highlighting this list are new playing surfaces for field hockey and tennis, a new flooring system in the football weight room in the Venderly Team Center, new graphics at Schuemann Stadium and in the Venderly Team Center, new graphics for men's and women's basketball in Worthen Arena and new graphics in the hallways of locker-room areas in Worthen Arena. We added a scoreboard at the Foster Adams Family Tennis Complex and a new videoboard at the Ball Diamond at First Merchants Bank Ballpark Complex. Also, we finalized plans for a summer installation of a much-needed seating upgrade inside Worthen Arena which will raise the profile of the basketball and volleyball fan experience.
As part of the University's Call to Beneficence Campaign, athletics fundraised nearly $6.7 million in the past year – $4 million of which is earmarked for a new Championship Performance Center which will house a power and speed laboratory to enhance strength and conditioning. This is a critically important project for the future of our department. We have more fundraising to do to make this facility a reality and meet our goal of a January 2026 grand opening. I often say that we must build our own momentum, and this project is an example of us doing just that!
As we promote enjoyable gameday environments for our fans and create a true home venue advantage for our teams, we continue to elevate game presentations across all sports. We debuted upgraded videoboards for football and baseball and introduced new fan experiences to raise energy and hype before and during games at Schuemann Stadium and in Worthen Arena. We offered enhanced premium seat experiences at football games with improved traditional suite amenities along with our four new north endzone luxury outdoor suites while we added 60 courtside seats at both men's and women's basketball games. These new opportunities generated more than $230,000 to help us better support our talented student-athletes. Our efforts to increase attendance have led to record ticket sales and revenue for gymnastics, women's basketball, and women's volleyball, and we project a new revenue record for men's volleyball by this season's end.
Creating memorable events is an ongoing endeavor. The Cardinals are Muncie's team, and we continue to market to Muncie and the east central Indiana region. We improved our Bird Feed sales e-mails, increased our outbound sales methods, and overhauled our social media branding and strategy. We designed and introduced our weekly podcast called This Week in Ball State Sports, which keeps our fans updated about Cardinal athletics. New enthusiasm within our department has enhanced communication with campus partners and has fostered new relationships with our student body. The new student organization known as Cardinal Chaos now aids our effort to promote athletics to the student community. The potential of this student-led initiative is enormous.
I am very grateful for the warm welcome that my family and I received in my first year at Ball State. We discovered what you already know – that Ball State exists as an institution of excellence which inspires our students to thrive and prepares our graduates to have fulfilling careers and meaningful lives. As for Ball State athletics, we are doubling down on our mission to develop leaders and winners. I am passionate about the growth of our people and the advancement of our programs.
To that end, I am asked frequently by fans how they can support the Cardinals. My answer is simple. You help us make excellence routine by purchasing season tickets, attending games, donating to the Cardinal Varsity Club, investing with us for new facility projects, supporting student-athletes in their pursuit of name, image, and likeness opportunities, and getting other alumni and friends to do the same. A great opportunity to demonstrate your love for Ball State is on April 3rd as we celebrate One Ball State Day. I invite you to click here and help contribute to our bright future!
Chirp! Chirp!
With appreciation and encouragement,
Jeff
JEFF MITCHELL
Director of Athletics
Ball State University
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