The Ball State Cardinals football team is a college football program representing Ball State University in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football. Ball State plays its home games at Scheumann Stadium on the campus of Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. The Cardinals compete in the Mid-American Conference as a member of the West Division. The team is currently led by head coach Mike Uremovich, who was hired on December 4, 2024.
The Cardinals have a 476–455–32 record, which ranks below the top 50 most victories among NCAA FBS programs. Ball State was originally classified as a teacher's college, participating in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) from 1937 until 1956. In 1957, they were classified as a Small College school until 1972. Ball State received Division II classification in 1973, before becoming a Division I-AA program in 1975 and a Division I-A (now FBS) program in 1981, dropping to Division I-AA for a single season (1982) before returning to Division I-A.
History
Conference affiliations Ball State has been an independent and affiliated with multiple conferences. Indiana Intercollegiate Conference (1924–1949) Indiana Collegiate Conference (1950–1969) Conference of Midwestern Universities (1970–1971) Mid-American Conference (1973–present)
Championships
Conference championships (11)
1942 Indiana Intercollegiate Conference John Magnabosco 6–2 1964 Indiana Collegiate Conference Ray Louthen 5–3 1965 Indiana Collegiate Conference Ray Louthen 9–0–1 1966 Indiana Collegiate Conference Ray Louthen 7–1–1 1967 Indiana Collegiate Conference Ray Louthen 7–3 1976 Mid-American Conference Dave McClain 8–3 1978 Mid-American Conference Dwight Wallace 10–1 1989 Mid-American Conference Paul Schudel 7–3–2 1993 Mid-American Conference Paul Schudel 8–3–1 1996 Mid-American Conference Bill Lynch 8–4 2020 Mid-American Conference Mike Neu 6–1
Division championships (4) 2001 MAC West Bill Lynch N/A lost tiebreaker to Toledo 2007 MAC West Brady Hoke N/A lost tiebreaker to Central Michigan 2008 MAC West Brady Hoke Buffalo L 24–42 2020 MAC West Mike Neu Buffalo W 38–28
Bowl games (9) Ball State has appeared in nine NCAA Division I postseason bowl games, in which they have compiled a 1–8 record. Within all FBS teams, Ball State was one of eight that had never won a sanctioned bowl game, until the 2020 Arizona Bowl.
1989December 9, 1989California BowlFresno StateL 6–271993December 17, 1993Las Vegas BowlUtah StateL 33–421996December 18, 1996Las Vegas BowlNevadaL 15–182007January 5, 2008International BowlRutgers L 30–522008January 6, 2009GMAC BowlTulsa L 13–452012December 21, 2012Beef 'O' Brady's BowlUCF L 17–382013January 5, 2014GoDaddy BowlArkansas State L 20–232020December 31, 2020Arizona BowlSan Jose StateW 34–132021December 25, 2021Camellia BowlGeorgia State L 20–51
Ball State also appeared in two NCAA College Division postseason bowl games, where they compiled a record of 0–1–1.
1965December 11, 1965Grantland Rice BowlTennessee StateT 14–141967December 9, 1967Grantland Rice BowlEastern KentuckyL 13–27
Head coaches
The Ball State Cardinals have had 17 head coaches throughout the program's history. With 68 victories, John Magnabosco has the most victories in the program's history, followed by Paul Schudel (60 wins) and Dave McClain (46).
Rivalries Indiana State
Ball State leads the series with Indiana State 39–24–1 with the last game played in 2023.
Miami (OH) Ball State first played the Miami RedHawks football team in 1931. Their rivalry began when Ball State joined the Mid-American Conference in the 1970s. Since 2017, the rivalry has been a protected cross-division game in the conference, with the Cardinals competing for the Red Bird Rivalry trophy against Miami. Through 2025, Miami leads the all-time series 25–13–1.
Northern Illinois
The Cardinals have played Northern Illinois six times in football since the launch of the Bronze Stalk Trophy. The trophy depicts several cornstalks in tribute to the prevalence of maize around the respective home states of the rivals. Northern Illinois holds a 26–25–2 lead in the series through the 2026 season.
Cardinals in professional football
Ball State has produced a total of 29 NFL draft selections. The following "Active" and "All-Star" lists account for past and present Ball State University football players that have participated in the National Football League, Canadian Football League, Arena Football League, XFL, United States Football League, European Football League, Austrian Football League, German Football League and IFL.
Active As of February 2023, there are a total of thirteen Cardinals listed on team rosters in the NFL, CFL, AFL, XFL, IFL, and USFL.
Christian Albright - DL - Saskatchewan Roughriders Nate Davis - QB - Duke City Gladiators Walter Fletcher - RB - Montreal Alouettes Justin Hall - WR - Houston Gamblers Caleb Huntley - RB - Atlanta Falcons Hassan Littles - WR - Green Bay Blizzard Jonathan Newsome - DE - Birmingham Stallions Antonio Phillips - CB - Vegas Vipers Danny Pinter - OL - Indianapolis Colts Drew Plitt - QB - Arlington Renegades Tuni Ropati - DL - Bay Area Panthers Willie Snead IV - WR - San Francisco 49ers Jaylin Thomas - LB - Seattle Sea Dragons
All-stars Among the numerous Cardinals who have participated in the NFL, CFL, and AFL, three have received all-star recognition by their respective leagues.
Blaine Bishop - S NFL Pro Bowl (1995, 1996, 1997, 2000) NFL All-Pro (1995, 1996, 2000)
Timmy Brown - RB NFL Pro Bowl (1962, 1963, 1965) NFL All-Pro (1963, 1965, 1966)
Kenny Stucker - K AFL All-Arena ( & )
Future non-conference opponents Announced schedules as of September 3, 2025.
at Ohio State at Iowa at Penn State at Indiana at Liberty Liberty Wyoming Middle Tennessee Stony Brook Western Kentucky Indiana State at Middle Tennessee at Liberty UT Martin at Western Kentucky at Northwestern at Kentucky
References
Ball State Historical Data, College Football Data Warehouse. Michael Maccambridge (ed.), ESPN College Football Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Game, ESPN, 2005, .
External links