I believe the time is right to tackle this challenge for two reasons: because our outstanding student-athletes deserve to perform in a stadium that mirrors the quality of the other facilities on campus, and because the quiet phase of our campaign drew great interest and enthusiastic support.

On October 25, we received sensational news about the performance of Ball State's student-athletes. NCAA graduation reports released that day show Ball State achieved the highest graduation rate for football players among state-supported universities in Division I-A! As they say on all those sports talk shows, let me break that down for you: Ball State's 88 percent six-year graduation rate is 31 points above the national average. The graduation rate was fifth overall in the nation, behind Duke, Wake Forest, Rice, and Vanderbilt, and tied with Baylor, all of which are private institutions.

These figures tell a compelling story about the commitment the university and our student-athletes have made to the scholar-athlete model of collegiate athletics. These student-athletes receive their education in outstanding academic facilities such as the Music Instruction Building and the Art and Journalism Building. We should provide them the opportunity to compete in a stadium that also inspires a sense of pride.

The early stages of this campaign showed Ball State supporters shared our view that this is not simply an investment in a football stadium. Rather, it's an investment in the Ball State experience. John and June Scheumann certainly felt that way and provided a $2 million lead gift, helping us raise $6.68 million of our $12 million goal during the quiet phase. John, who attended Ball State on a football scholarship and graduated in 1971, and June have invested in other Ball State projects, but they have revealed an even stronger belief in the quality of Ball State by sending their two daughters to school here. That's commitment!

The Scheumanns and the members of our campaign committee joined me on the sun-drenched field of the stadium October 30 to announce the campaign. It was a glorious fall day, and a down-to-the-wire game against 26th-ranked Northern Illinois contributed a great deal of energy and excitement to the start of the campaign.

As you will see in the pages of this special edition of the Alumnus, the architectural plans are truly a transformation of the stadium into a modern facility, a campus gateway, a community gathering place, and a venue we can all feel proud to call "home." The dream of an improved stadium is decades old, but now, the time is right. We're more than halfway to our goal. It's within reach. I hope you will join me and make it happen!