Ball State University Athletics
Head Coach Chris Capko Opening Press Conference Quotes
Coach Capko
Opening Statement: "Just standing here in front of you all is a surreal moment for me. I've been dreaming of this moment for a long, long time. To see all of you here, and for you all to be so supportive, it means a lot. What an amazing moment to be part of the Ball State community, and what an amazing moment to be your 21st head basketball coach. I want everyone to know that I do see see the responsibility that comes with being the 21st head coach as an absolute privilege, and I am so fortunate and excited to be standing here in front of you. As a coach and a leader of young men, it is my job to instill confidence and convey to my student-athletes that I believe in them in order to inspire them to the best of my ability. For the confidence and belief that I from President Mearns, Athletic Director [Jeff] Mitchell and Deputy Director of Athletics Lauren Rhodes, I can't thank you enough. To the current players that I have met, thank you for your support and trust, and for allowing me to coach you. I will be the example everyday for who you want to be, and I will model exactly what I am asking of you day in and day out. My staff and I will work tirelessly to ensure that we turn over every rock in the state to recruit the best players that we can and make you all proud. We need the students and fans to come help make [Worthen] Arena one of the best arenas that we can. We need to make this program the best in the Mid-American Conference. We can be what you want this program to be, and I need everybody here to do that. Let's do it together. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much." Â
Q: "What is your first impression of the university?" - Cade Hampton, The Star Press
A: "[Muncie] is awesome. [Ball State] campus is amazing. I've never spent time in the Midwest, but I've always known that Indiana is a great basketball state, and the people in Indiana care about basketball. Since getting here, I have seen the support. People have stopped to say hello, and to just see how the community has embraced me and my family, it has been amazing. More than I could have imagined."Â
Q: "Can you talk a little about your roster building process that you plan to go through with the transfer portal opening in the next couple of weeks?"
A: "I want guys that want to be here. The first thing is going to be retaining the guys from last year's team if it makes sense. Myself and others on my staff have been sending names, so we're starting look at who is going to be in [the transfer portal] at which position to determine how we're going to fill in those holes while surveying strengths and weaknesses."
Q: "What kind of characteristics are you looking for in your future players and assistant coaches?" - Andrew Mason, WCRD
A: "I use my four core values a lot. I think now more than ever, when you're paying players, it's more than can he go or can he not. In the recruiting process, I look at one, self motivation. Is the guy self-motivated, or do I have to hold his hand to get in the gym? Two, is he honest, and can I be honest with him? Through the ups and downs in a season, you have to have honest conversations with people. The third is toughness. I want someone who has a tendency to be tough and can figure it out through mistakes. The last value I use is reliability. I want reliable guys that can help put a winning product on the floor."Â
Q: "Why is it so important to build good relationships with your players?" - Kyle Stout, Ball State Daily News
A: "Well, any program is the product of the culture, right? I think when you're around guys or young men in any line of work, the relationships you have with them are extremely important. Go back to the honesty core value. If I'm just end up lying all the time, and they're lying to me and we're not establishing any type of culture or trust, then there are going to be tough times. All in all, people want to be around people they trust, and want to be around people they feel good about. On top of the four core values that I talked about, these young men want to have fun. They should have fun. This is work. They should enjoy coming in to work every day, being able to be teammates, being with their coaching staff, and just enjoying what they're doing."Â
Q: "What made you decide this was the right point in your career to become a head coach?"
A: "I have been very fortunate in my career. I was in a really good spot, great stability, my family's happy. I worked for a guy  who treated me with respect, allowed me grow, and I was getting a lot of autonomy in our program. I was coming to a point in my career that if was going to do this, I'm going to do it with someone I know is going to do whatever they can to help me. This is a new era of college athletics, and you can't do this if you're fighting with one arm tied behind your back. So, I felt extreme confidence in Jeff [Mitchell] and President Mearns that they are going to provide me with resources to be competitive, and that they are going to give me every avenue and every opportunity to allow us to compete. From my standpoint, I felt alignment with them and I felt they are going to do whatever to help us be successful."Â
Coach Capko
Opening Statement: "Just standing here in front of you all is a surreal moment for me. I've been dreaming of this moment for a long, long time. To see all of you here, and for you all to be so supportive, it means a lot. What an amazing moment to be part of the Ball State community, and what an amazing moment to be your 21st head basketball coach. I want everyone to know that I do see see the responsibility that comes with being the 21st head coach as an absolute privilege, and I am so fortunate and excited to be standing here in front of you. As a coach and a leader of young men, it is my job to instill confidence and convey to my student-athletes that I believe in them in order to inspire them to the best of my ability. For the confidence and belief that I from President Mearns, Athletic Director [Jeff] Mitchell and Deputy Director of Athletics Lauren Rhodes, I can't thank you enough. To the current players that I have met, thank you for your support and trust, and for allowing me to coach you. I will be the example everyday for who you want to be, and I will model exactly what I am asking of you day in and day out. My staff and I will work tirelessly to ensure that we turn over every rock in the state to recruit the best players that we can and make you all proud. We need the students and fans to come help make [Worthen] Arena one of the best arenas that we can. We need to make this program the best in the Mid-American Conference. We can be what you want this program to be, and I need everybody here to do that. Let's do it together. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much." Â
Q: "What is your first impression of the university?" - Cade Hampton, The Star Press
A: "[Muncie] is awesome. [Ball State] campus is amazing. I've never spent time in the Midwest, but I've always known that Indiana is a great basketball state, and the people in Indiana care about basketball. Since getting here, I have seen the support. People have stopped to say hello, and to just see how the community has embraced me and my family, it has been amazing. More than I could have imagined."Â
Q: "Can you talk a little about your roster building process that you plan to go through with the transfer portal opening in the next couple of weeks?"
A: "I want guys that want to be here. The first thing is going to be retaining the guys from last year's team if it makes sense. Myself and others on my staff have been sending names, so we're starting look at who is going to be in [the transfer portal] at which position to determine how we're going to fill in those holes while surveying strengths and weaknesses."
Q: "What kind of characteristics are you looking for in your future players and assistant coaches?" - Andrew Mason, WCRD
A: "I use my four core values a lot. I think now more than ever, when you're paying players, it's more than can he go or can he not. In the recruiting process, I look at one, self motivation. Is the guy self-motivated, or do I have to hold his hand to get in the gym? Two, is he honest, and can I be honest with him? Through the ups and downs in a season, you have to have honest conversations with people. The third is toughness. I want someone who has a tendency to be tough and can figure it out through mistakes. The last value I use is reliability. I want reliable guys that can help put a winning product on the floor."Â
Q: "Why is it so important to build good relationships with your players?" - Kyle Stout, Ball State Daily News
A: "Well, any program is the product of the culture, right? I think when you're around guys or young men in any line of work, the relationships you have with them are extremely important. Go back to the honesty core value. If I'm just end up lying all the time, and they're lying to me and we're not establishing any type of culture or trust, then there are going to be tough times. All in all, people want to be around people they trust, and want to be around people they feel good about. On top of the four core values that I talked about, these young men want to have fun. They should have fun. This is work. They should enjoy coming in to work every day, being able to be teammates, being with their coaching staff, and just enjoying what they're doing."Â
Q: "What made you decide this was the right point in your career to become a head coach?"
A: "I have been very fortunate in my career. I was in a really good spot, great stability, my family's happy. I worked for a guy  who treated me with respect, allowed me grow, and I was getting a lot of autonomy in our program. I was coming to a point in my career that if was going to do this, I'm going to do it with someone I know is going to do whatever they can to help me. This is a new era of college athletics, and you can't do this if you're fighting with one arm tied behind your back. So, I felt extreme confidence in Jeff [Mitchell] and President Mearns that they are going to provide me with resources to be competitive, and that they are going to give me every avenue and every opportunity to allow us to compete. From my standpoint, I felt alignment with them and I felt they are going to do whatever to help us be successful."Â