This summer, there have been plenty of storylines on campus and across the country, with the sound of whistles and shoulder pads crashing into each other just around the corner.
In case you've been living under a rock this summer, here's a few things you might have missed.
WORTHEN FLOOR
It seemed like as soon as students left for summer break, Worthen Arena's floor got a renovation. Out goes the floor that screamed Cardinal red and in is a new, cleaner look that lacks any color. I have to agree with some of the comments about the new design looking cheap, but I'm a fan. The red gave me a headache anyway.
FOOTBALL
The football team lost its most productive running back from last season when Eric Williams decided to leave the program to play at Hampton University.
Williams said he and coach Pete Lembo did not agree on a lot of things and even questioned Lembo's morals. Lembo said it was a difference of philosophies with the program since he took over in December. After hearing both sides, it seemed like Williams just couldn't get along with Lembo and decided to move on because Stan Parrish is no longer here. Allegiance to a former coach is quite common in college football.
Williams departure will definitely set the offense back, but the question is by how much. The Cardinals are deep at running back, as Cory Sykes, David Brown, Barrington Scott and Dwayne Donigan are all expected to see some playing time this season.
TITLE IX
Perhaps the biggest story of the summer was the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights returning to campus in July. It's a story that we'll hear more about in the fall when OCR makes a second trip to Ball State to checkup on the athletics department and its issues with Title IX compliance.
In 2008, a complaint was filed against Ball State for Title IX which led to an investigation of the school. Ball State was found not in compliance with 18 of the 20 areas of Title IX.
After the OCR's visit, the school announced the softball team will be getting a new locker room facility. The team never had a locker room of its own while the baseball team had renovations of over $400,000 done to its locker room within the past year.
NCAA VIOLATIONS
It seems like now is a bad time to get investigated by either the OCR or the NCAA since every week a school is getting penalized for something. The most infamous situation right now is what happened at Ohio State.
The school's football coach Jim Tressel was forced to resign after covering up the money-tattoo scandal two years into his job at Ohio State. How many people could have guessed that when Ohio State and Michigan play this year the two coaches would be Luke Fickell and Brady Hoke — two new coaches replacing the prominent match ups that fans usually look for?
NFL LOCKOUT
Plenty of other things have been going on besides schools getting in trouble. The NFL and NBA are both locked out (though the NFL lockout looks like it could be ending), the United States fell to Japan in the Women's World Cup Final and the Dallas Mavericks beat the villians of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh in the NBA Finals.
But the most surprising storyline goes to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Yes, after 18 consecutive losing seasons the Pirates are in contention in the National League Central.
SHOWING OUR POTENTIAL
As we take a break until the beginning of the school year, there will be some storylines to watch out for. We'll get to see how the Cardinals will do in the beginning of a new era, how women's volleyball coach Steve Shondell shapes up in his sophomore season and any further information that comes out of the OCR visit.
Until then, don't get yourself in any trouble that might cause the NCAA to come after you.
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