Ball State athletic director Tom Collins announced on Friday he will leave Ball State at the end of his contract, which ends on June 30. He has been the athletic director at Ball State since January 2006.
Collins said the decision to leave the school came down to family, who live mostly in the Southwest. His daughter, son-in-law and grandson live near Phoenix while his son recently moved to New York.
"My family most importantly," Collins said. "Visiting with my kid and wife and whatnot. It was my decision."
As for the timing of his decision, Collins said it came up during the holidays. Collins said could not comment on other opportunities he might explore when he goes back to the Southwest.
Between now and when his contract expires, Collins will work out his contract to help search for a new athletic director. The search committee will be led by Ball State President Jo Ann Gora, and it will soon begin to canvas the country for job candidates.
Collins said he doesn't know where the committee will search for its candidates and doesn't know if a new athletic director could be someone inside the athletics department at Ball State.
"That's up to [Gora] and whoever she forms the group with," he said. "We certainly have a strong internal staff here. We've got wonderful coaches and student-athletes so I think it will be a very attractive job."
Under Collins, Ball State saw several renovations in athletics facilities, including the creation of the Briner Sports Complex. Several teams at Ball State, including the softball, women's volleyball, men's tennis, and women's basketball teams, made NCAA Tournament appearances with Collins as athletic director. The football team also made appearances in back-to-back bowl games in the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons and played in the Mid-American Conference Championship game in 2008.
He also came up with the plan to move the football season opener against Indiana to Lucas Oil Stadium this past season. Ball State won the game 27-20 in front of a crowd of more than 40,000 people.
He isn't sure about what kind of legacy he will leave when June comes, but he said there were plenty of accomplishments during his time at Ball State.
"We've worked hard everyday to improve the athletic department," Collins said. "To help our student-athletes have a good experience and to graduate our student-athletes. There's been a lot of successes and a lot of things that have been done behind the scenes that we didn't throw a lot of fanfare about. But I feel really good about where we're at."
Even with the recent successes at Ball State, which include first-year coach Pete Lembo leading the football team to a bowl eligible season and the men's basketball team currently tied for first place in the MAC West, Collins said there's more that could be accomplished.
"There's still more facilities to be built and money to be raised," he said. "We've accomplished an awful lot. But there's a lot more to do."
Collins said he hopes the athletics department will continue to improve in the years after he leaves.
"I think [Ball State] is in a terrific conference. I think we've got terrific leadership. I hope all our sports can achieve great success in the future."
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