Officials discuss issues surrounding program cuts

Ball State is examining ways to distribute resources within its athletics budget to ensure that the university will be able to compete at the highest level in the NCAA and offer a quality experience to all its student-athletes. As part of the process, the university is considering reducing the number of teams it fields in order to reallocate funds within the athletics budget.

The Department of Intercollegiate Athletics is also looking for ways to increase non-institutional revenues through a combination of ticket sales, private support, marketing, and corporate support.

Ball State is committed to maintaining its Division 1-A status and its membership in the Mid-American Conference. Like other members of the MAC, five of which have cut sports in the past two years, Ball State is affected by the evolution of the economics of NCAA Division I-A sports and by the structure and priorities of the conference. With 22 sports, Ball State currently supports the greatest number of sports among MAC schools.

Combined with the depletion of the athletics reserve account, which held funds received after the men's basketball team appeared in the 1990 NCAA Sweet Sixteen and which covered budget deficits over the past four years, the strain on the athletics budget has reached a critical point.

Simply adding to the athletics budget from university operating funds is not possible because of the continued negative impact of the state's fiscal situation on university funding. Ball State's administration is seeking ways to limit increases in the athletics budget to the same level given to other critical areas of the university.

As Ball State considers the issues and options related to budget and sports offered, the university is engaging in a more open process than has been the case at other universities that have eliminated sports programs. Even though this public process has stirred emotions inside and outside the Ball State community, the university believes it is valuable.

At magazine press time, no final decisions had been made. Two committees within the university have reviewed information regarding the athletics budget. The first committee recommended eliminating six sports, reducing the football roster by ten players, eliminating an associate athletic director position, and continuing athletic scholarships for the duration of any athlete's eligibility even if the athlete's sport is eliminated. The second committee voted against a motion in support of that recommendation.

Athletics Director Bubba Cunningham invites input from campus constituents and the greater Ball State family of alumni and friends as he consults with peers and experts outside the institution before making his recommendation to President Blaine A. Brownell.

Send comments to Cunningham at bcunningham@bsu.edu.

The university's goal is to establish a plan to provide the level of support necessary to give Ball State teams and student-athletes their greatest chances for success.

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Basketball, field hockey name coaches

Duffy Burns, '85, and Stephanie White will join the Ball State women's basketball team as assistant coaches for the 2003-04 season. Annette Payne, who has served the last two seasons as an assistant field hockey coach at Ball State, has been promoted to head coach.

Burns was the head coach at Cleveland State from 1995-03, where he compiled a record of 103-122. Before becoming Cleveland State's coach, he had served as assistant women's basketball coach and recruiting coordinator at Central Connecticut.

White, a former Indiana high school and Purdue University standout, is an original member of the Women's National Basketball Association's Indiana Fever. She has served as a sideline reporter for Fox Sports and WTTV 4, while also spending the past two basketball seasons as an assistant girl's basketball coach at Logansport High School in 2002-03 and Lafayette Jefferson High School in 2001-02. During the summer, White operates basketball camps.

Prior to coming to Ball State in 2001, Payne served as an assistant coach at her high school alma mater, Whitefield, in St. Louis, MO. She spent the 1999-00 school year as an assistant at her college alma mater, Iowa.

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Women's athletics wins fourth Jacoby trophy

Ball State has won the 2002-03 Mid-American Conference's Jacoby Trophy for overall excellence in the women's program, while finishing fifth in the men's Reese Cup standings.

The Jacoby Trophy is presented to the MAC university with the six-highest finishes in the 12 women's sports in which the MAC sponsors championships. The top six sports per university are counted, however, three of the six must be basketball, volleyball, and softball.

Ball State's women's teams earned 66 points, three more than second-place Kent State, to capture the school's fourth straight and MAC-record-fifth overall Jacoby Trophy. Only one other school in the 21-year history of the award has earned four straight cups.

To win the Jacoby Cup, Ball State captured the MAC regular season and tournament championships in women's volleyball (13 points) and tied for the league title in women's basketball (12.5 points). Three Ball State women's squads earned 12 points by placing second: soccer, cross country, and indoor track and field. Also, the softball team earned 4.5 points for ninth place.

The Reese Trophy is awarded to the MAC university with the six-highest finishes in the 11 men's sports in which the conference sponsors championships. The top six sports per school are counted, however, three of the six must be football, basketball, and baseball. In addition, schools may only count one track and field score, either indoor or outdoor.

Ball State's men's squads earned 58 points in the standings, 6.5 points behind first place Miami. The Cardinals earned 13 points for tennis, 12 points for swimming, 11 points for baseball, 10 points for golf, 7.5 points for football, and 4.5 points for basketball.

Ball State has won four Reese Cups (1989, 1990, 1993, and 1998) in the 46-year history of the award, with two runner-up finishes in 1992 and 2001.

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Cardinals to play football opener under lights

Ball State will host its first night football game at Ball State stadium, Thursday, August 28, at 7:00 p.m. The game, against Indiana State, will be the season opener. It was scheduled away from the usual Saturday to avoid interfering with the Labor Day weekend, according to university officials.

The Cardinals will be led by first-year coach Brady Hoke, '82, former Cardinal football team captain and a student-athlete on Ball State's 1978 Mid-American Conference Championship team.

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At the buzzer...

Softball: Senior Katie Shea (Royal Oak, MI/Royal Oak Kimball) and junior Kris Burdine (New Palestine/Scecina Memorial) have been selected to the 2003 Academic All-MAC Softball Team. Shea also was recognized for the second straight season as she was named to the Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division I All-Mideast Region Second Team.

Golf: Senior Kenny Cook (Union City, OH/Mississinawa Valley) and junior Justin Cross (Richmond/Richmond) were named to the men's golf Academic All-MAC Team.

Women's Swimming: Junior Kait Martin (Fort Wayne/Homestead) a swimmer and diver on Ball State's swim team, has been selected as the recipient of the 2002-03 Judy Cress Memorial Scholarship.

Junior Emily Aubie (Nepean, Ont./John McCrae) and junior Jamie VanNess (Lafayette/Lafayette Jefferson) were named to the Academic All-MAC First Team.

Men's Swimming: Sophomore Ryan Plantz (Granger/Penn) and junior Chad Rusk (Monee, IL/Shepard) were named to the Academic All-MAC First Team.

Football: Senior David Miller (Goshen/Goshen), a member of the 2002 Ball State football team, has signed a free agent contract with the NFL's Detroit Lions.

Women's Basketball: Senior Tamara Bowie (Lansing, MI/Sexton) was selected by the WNBA's Washington Mystics in the 2003 WNBA Draft. The 36th player drafted, Bowie became the first women's basketball player to be drafted in Ball State history.

Women's Tennis: Junior Melissa Roach (Hull, England/Hull) has been selected to the 2003 All-MAC women's first team. Roach becomes only the 11th player in the program's history to accomplish this honor.

Men's Tennis: Ball State made a sweep of the Mid-American Conference Men's Specialty Awards this spring. Senior Chris Varga (Granger/St. Joseph's) was named Player of the Year, freshman Matt Baccarani (Toronoto, Ont./Silverthorn) earned Newcomer of the Year, and Bill Richards was named Coach of the Year for leading Ball State to the 2003 MAC Championship and Mid-Am Tournament title.

In addition, Varga and Baccarani were named to the MAC first team, while Senior Kevin Burnett (Greenwood/Center Grove) and sophomore Matt Laramore (Indianapolis/North Central) were named to the All-MAC Second Team.