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. Mike Neu is the head coach. 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 Cardinals have a 476–455–32 record, which ranks below the top 50 most victories among NCAA FBS programs.[2] 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.[3]
Ball State has been an independent and affiliated with multiple conferences.[4]
Ball State has appeared in nine NCAA Division I postseason bowl games, in which they have compiled a 1–8 record.[5] Within all FBS teams, Ball State was one of eight that had never won a sanctioned bowl game, until the 2020 Arizona Bowl.[6]
Ball State also appeared in two NCAA College Division postseason bowl games, where they compiled a record of 0–1–1.
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).[7]
Ball State leads the series with Indiana State 39–24–1 with the last game played in 2023.[8][9]
Ball State and Miami were granted rivalry status by the MAC in 2017. The cross-division foes play each year for the Red Bird Rivalry trophy. BSU has been known as the Cardinals since 1927, while Miami adopted the RedHawks moniker in 1997. The series dates back to 1931 but really heated up in the 1970s when BSU joined the MAC. [10]
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.[11] Northern Illinois holds a 24–21–2 lead in the series through the 2019 season.[12]
Ball State has produced a total of 29 NFL draft selections.[13]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.
As of February 2023, there are a total of thirteen Cardinals listed on team rosters in the NFL,[14] CFL,[15] AFL,[16] XFL, IFL, and USFL.
Among the numerous Cardinals who have participated in the NFL, CFL, and AFL, three have received all-star recognition by their respective leagues.
Announced schedules as of August 11, 2024.[20]