Topics: Athletics, Scholarships

July 20, 2007

For more than 50 years, Ball State sportscaster Morry Mannies has been the ubiquitous "Voice of the Cardinals." Now through his generosity and that of his children, he is providing scholarships so generations of Ball State students can develop their own academic voices.

The Morry E. Mannies Sportscasting Scholarship was created with a $28,000 gift from Mannies and his children, Julie Mannies, Duluth, Ga., and Jeffrey Mannies, Lakewood, Ohio.

The scholarship will benefit Ball State juniors or seniors majoring in telecommunications who have a declared interest in sportscasting. Preference will be given to a student with sportscasting experience. A student's academic achievement will be considered in the selection process.

Mannies began his broadcasting career at WARU in Peru at the age of 15. As a freshman at Ball State, he was hired by Muncie radio station WLBC and has since been the "Voice of the Cardinals" for basketball and football for 51 years.

In addition to more than 2,500 Ball State broadcasts, he has announced at least 2,500 high school basketball and football games as well as 51 consecutive Indiana High School State Basketball finals.

His broadcasting career is filled with awards, including being named the Indiana Sportscaster of the Year by the Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association in 1985, 1989 and 1992. He's been selected three times as Mid-American Conference Sportscaster of the Year.

He was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002. And he received the Meridian Insurance Silver Medallion Award for his contributions to Indiana basketball. Mannies is also a member of the Delaware County, Ball State University, Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscasters Associations and Mid-American Halls of Fame.

A Ball State alumnus, Mannies earned his bachelor's degree in speech and English in 1960 and then a master's degree in speech education in 1964. He taught speech and English at Muncie Central High School from 1960-68, and then was an assistant professor of speech and director of speech education at Ball State from 1968-75. He received the Beneficence Award from Ball State in 1981.

In 1996, Mannies received the Indiana Journalism Award from Ball State's journalism department. Moreover, in 2005, he received a Distinguished Alumni Award from Ball State.

In addition to his academic career, Mannies joined Peckinpaugh Financial Group as an insurance executive in 1963 and has been with the firm for the past 44 years. He is a lifetime member of the million-dollar roundtable. In addition, in 1993, he was named a Sagamore of the Wabash by then Gov. Evan Bayh.

Availability of this scholarship fund is dependent upon an award selection process established by Ball State and its academic departments. For specifics about this scholarship, contact the telecommunications department at (765) 285-1480.

For more information about other scholarships available at Ball State, contact the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid at (765) 285-5600 or visit www.bsu.edu/finaid.