As I prepare to the leave the university in just a few days, I took a step back and started to think about the state of Ball State sports.
Sure, there's plenty to be negative about. The football team is in a state of Lembo — excuse me, limbo — after plummeting from the mountaintop of 2008. The athletics department is mired in scandal and a series of dismissals over the past few seasons. The entire program is overseen by leadership that is questionable at best.
Yet, I can't help but consider the positives. The softball team leads the Mid-American Conference a year after losing its best player. Steve Shondell, a "local rock star" as associate athletic director Matt Wolfert said, has reinvigorated the women's volleyball program. Several other teams are on the cusp of greatness as well.
It would be great to be the Boise State of football or the Butler of basketball, but the barriers to entry are so high that it sometimes feels impossible. What if the university doubled down on its support of some of these smaller sports?
Other MAC schools have done a tremendous job of finding success there. Kent State sent its gymnastics team to the national championship for the first time in conference history this season and the Golden Flashes dominate women's golf. Akron is the defending national champion in men's soccer.
According to the latest data from the Office of Postsecondary Education, Ball State is ninth in operating budget for women's volleyball. For soccer, it's 11th. Women's golf: eighth out of nine.
Guess where Akron's budget is in relation to the rest of the conference? First. And Kent State does it at the detriment of football, with the lowest operating expenses in the MAC for that sport.
So, which would we rather have? Average teams across the board or the chance for a few great ones, even if their highlights don't make it to ESPN?
Beyond the money, students need to embrace these teams as well. I didn't know whether to be shocked or angry when volleyball middle blocker Kelsey Brandl told me this week that she thought there wasn't enough student support for the women's volleyball team.
I'm going to go with disappointed. The team "only" won a conference championship, completed a 10-game turnaround and went undefeated at home. The Cardinals were an unfortunate conference tournament venue away from having a great shot at making the NCAA Tournament — in Shondell's first year.
But so many teams do amazing things that go unnoticed by the student population. I was in awe of what the gymnasts could do during my two seasons of covering the team. I also have to recognize the field hockey team. Anybody willing to compete in a sport that includes getting beaten with essentially a solid wood golf club and a huge, hard plastic ball should have the respect of her peers.
I'm not dismissing football or men's basketball. Coach Pete Lembo is bringing some good energy, and coach Billy Taylor's squad might make the leap in 2012. But expand your horizons. Check out a swimming meet or a tennis match. Bring some friends and have a good time. Who knows? It may be more fun than chirping on third down.
There are so many sports at Ball State that deserve the support of the athletics department and the student body. They may not make national headlines, but they are capable of being sources of pride for our university.
And isn't that what we really want?
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