Brady Hoke, '82, a four-year football letterman at Ball State from 1977-80 and a team captain for the Cardinals his senior year, has been named head football coach. The announcement was made December 19 during a press conference.

"I am honored and very excited to have been offered the opportunity to coach at Ball State," Hoke says. "It is great to return to the school that enabled me to get an education and play football. I look forward to representing a great univerity with integrity and pride.

Hoke has spent the last eight seasons on the staff at the University of Michigan under the guidance of Wolverine head coach Lloyd Carr. During the 2002 season he was associate head coach and defensive line coach, helping the nationally ranked Wolverines to a 9-3 overall record and a berth in the New Year's Day Outback Bowl vs. Florida.

He joined the Michigan coaching staff in 1995, coaching the defensive line during Michigan's 1997 national championship season.

Before joining the Wolverines, Hoke coached six seasons at Oregon State, working with the defensive line and inside linebackers. He also has experience in the Mid American Conference, at Western Michigan from 1984-86 before moving to Toledo for the 1987 and 1988 campaigns.

As a student-athlete at Ball State, Hoke was on the 1978 MAC Championship team. He ranked third on the team in tackles as a sophomore and was second on the squad with tackles as a junior.

As one of four captains of the 1980 team, Hoke led the Cardinals and ranked sixth in the MAC with 150 tackles, earning All-MAC second-team honors.

Hoke and his wife Laura (Homberger) Hoke, '80, have one daughter.

Soccer Coach Named MAC Coach of the Year

Ball State women's soccer head coach Ron Rainey was named the 2002 Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year and five players earned All-MAC honors.

Rainey guided the fourth-year Ball State program to its most successful season in its brief history. After opening the inaugural campaign in 1999 with a 1-17-1 record and guiding last year's squad to a 12-6-2 overall mark and eighth-place league finish, the 2002 Cardinals challenged for the league's regular-season championship with a 9-3 MAC mark and 14-5-1 overall record. Ball State won its first postseason match in school history with a win over Western Michigan last fall.

Senior Ehren Reagor (Crestview Hills, KY/Scott H.S.) and sophomore Dee Nocero (Kirtland,OH/Notre Dame Cathedral H.S.) were named to the All-MAC First Team.

Senior Eileen Weinheimer (Brookfield, WI/Brookfield Central H.S.), junior Megan Swafford (Ludlow Falls, OH/Milton Union H.S.), and sophomore Kate Nadalin (Woodstock, Ontario/Huron Park Secondary H.S.) were named to the All-MAC Second Team.

Runners Earn Academic Recognition

Two members of the Ball State women's cross country team, Katie Nowak (Parkesburg, PA/Coatesville Area) and Linda Stebbins (Englewood, OH/Clayton Northmont), have been named to the 2002 Academic All-MAC Women's Cross Country Team.

Nowak, a senior exercise science major, has accumulated a 3.44 grade- point average at Ball State. A participant in all seven events for the Cardinals this season, Nowak earned second-team All-MAC honors after her seventh-place finish at the 2002 MAC Championships.

Stebbins, a sophomore biology major, currently holds a 3.97 grade-point average. Also a participant in all seven events for the Cardinals, Stebbins recorded a season-best, fourth-place finish at the Butler Invitational.

Athletics Department Reorganizes Personnel

The Ball State athletics department has reorganized in an effort to better serve its student-athletes, coaches, and staff.

Dick Falls, '72MA76, in his 29th year at Ball State, has been promoted from senior associate athletics director to deputy director of athletics. Falls will supervise the day-to-day operations for football, men's and women's golf, and men's and women's swimming. He will also handle the daily duties of the athletics administration, the department's dealer car program, and will supervise the BSU equipment personnel.

Joe Hernandez, '84MA91, in his 17th year at Ball State, has been promoted to associate athletics director for external affairs. Hernandez will oversee Ball State's marketing, promotions, sales, and corporate relations, and will supervise men's basketball.

Pat Quinn, in his 21st year at the university, will supervise baseball, men's and women's cross country and track, women's soccer, women's gymnastics, and softball. He will also serve as the athletics department's liaison for all facilities usage and scheduling.

Newcomer Nona Richardson, who began in November 2002 as associate athletics director and senior women's administrator, will supervise women's basketball, women's volleyball, men's volleyball, women's field hockey, and men's and women's tennis. She will also oversee the school's Student-Athlete Advisory Board, the department's Life Skills program, athletics training, and strength and conditioning.

Women's Basketball Receives Votes in Preseason AP Poll

The women's basketball team received three votes in The Associated Press 2002-03 Women's Preseason Basketball Poll, earning a ranking of 46th nationally.

Ball State, ranked as high as 28th at one point during the 2000-01 season, is the only Mid-American Conference team to receive votes in the AP poll.

Ball State enjoyed its most successful season in school history last year, earning its first post-season appearance with a berth in the Women's National Invitation Tournament and finishing with an all-time best 24-8 overall record, going 13-3 in MAC competition.

The Cardinals return five players from last year's squad led by Senior Tamara Bowie, a one-time Kodak All-America Honorable Mention and two-time First-Team All-MAC selection. Bowie, the 2001 MAC Player of the Year, entered the season just 41 points shy of BSU's all-time scoring record of 1,513 points.

Walton Receives Irving Coaching Award

Joel Walton, '88, the head men's volleyball coach, has been named the recipient of the 2001-02 Irving Brothers Coach of the Year Award, which goes to the Ball State head coach who had the most success during the year based on a points system.

Walton guided the Cardinals to a 23-8 overall record, a MIVA regular-season and tournament championship, and a trip to the NCAA championships. During the season two of Walton's players, Paul Fasshauer and Tom Tegethoff, were selected as national players of the week, while Fassahauer was named a First Team All-American in 2002. In addition, four players earned All-MIVA Honors.

Men's Basketball Loses Two Seniors For Season

Seniors Rob Robbins (Muncie/Delta H.S.) and Theron Smith (Auburndale, FL/Auburndale H.S.) will miss the remainder of the 2002-03 season after suffering knee injuries.

Robbins, a 6-foot-4 inch guard, suffered a tear in his anterior-cruciate-ligament (ACL) in a road game at Butler.

Robbins played in only four games this season, averaging 2.3 points.

Smith suffers from reoccurring tendonitis, a result of surgery last June.

Three Football Players Earn All-MAC Honors

Marcus Merriweather, '02 (Fort Wayne/Snider H.S.), a senior tailback, has been named to the All-Mid-American-Conference First Team for the second straight season. Justin Beriault (Indianapolis/Warren Central H.S.); and David Miller (Goshen/Goshen H.S.) have been selected for second-team honors.

Merriweather, a career 4,000-yard rusher, set a single-season rushing record this year with 1,618 yards, breaking his own record of 1,244, set in 2001.

Beriault ranked second in total tackles with 121 and six tackles for loss, two pass break-ups, and one interception.

Miller started all 12 games this season, helping an offensive line that allowed only three sacks in the final six games.

Field Hockey Players Earn All-MAC Acclaim

Ball State field hockey's Allison Haynes (St. James, Barbados/Coleridge and Perry H.S.), Afton Hess (Ronks, PA/Pequea Valley H.S.), and Heather Weinhold (Ephrata, PA/Ephrata H.S.) have been selected to the 2002 All-Mid-American Conference First Team.

A senior forward, Haynes tied for team-high honors with 11 goals and was second with 24 total points. Hess, a junior forward, topped the team this fall with 27 points. She was first in assists with five and tied Haynes with a team-leading 11 goals. The senior midfielder, Weinhold gained first-team all-league accolades.

At The Buzzer

Women's Volleyball: Kelly Cochran (Laporte/Marquette H.S.), Kirby Gibson (Lafayette/Jefferson H.S.), Angela Parrell (Black Earth/Wisconsin Heights H.S.), and Lauren TerAvest (Hopkins, MI/Jefferson H.S.) have signed national letters of intent to play for Ball State...Men's Basketball: Peyton Stovall (Lafayette/Lafayette Jeff H.S.), Julien "Skip" Mills (Indianapolis/North Central H.S.), and Darren Yates (Indianapolis/Pike H.S.) have signed national letters of intent to join the men's basketball program...

Lynch Not Retained As Head Coach

Bill Lynch, head football coach for the last eight years, was relieved of his head coaching duties at the end of the season. Lynch, who still has one year remaining on his contract, will be reassigned within the university.

In a statement, Ball State athletics director Bubba Cunningham said: "Bill Lynch has been informed that he will not be retained as the football coach at Ball State University. Bill has brought in good students and good people to Ball State. He has taken an active role in their development as student-athletes, and has supported their academic interests while encouraging good citizenship. These are expectations we have for all of our coaches in all of our sports.

"However, we also expect to excel on the field. In football we have not achieved the success we had hoped we would," Cunningham continued. "This is an extremely difficult decision because of Bill's personal integrity and commitment to Ball State University. In addition to the work with his student-athletes, Bill has demonstrated outstanding leadership to his assistant coaches and other coaches within the department. There is not a more dedicated, hard-working group of people in this business than Bill Lynch and his staff."

Lynch managed a 37-53 coaching record at Ball State, including 6-6 overall record and 4-4 in the MAC this season. He led the Cardinals to a 1996 MAC Championship and a berth in the Las Vegas Bowl, and led last year's team to a 4-1 finish in the MAC West Division and a tie for the division title.

Prior to coming to Ball State as head coach in 1995, Lynch was the Cardinals' offensive coordinator from 1990-92. He left to become quarterbacks coach at Indiana University in 1993 and 1994. Lynch served as head coach at Butler from 1985-1989 and compiled a 36-12-3 record there.