The women's basketball program has been in the cellar of Ball State athletics for far too long, but that might be about to change.
From 2008-2012, the recently resigned coach Kelly Packard, who compiled a 50-50 record during her four seasons at the helm, was behind the Cardinals' bench. But that record is deceiving.
Over the last two seasons, the Cardinals amassed just 18 wins while losing 42 games. And from 2009-2011, the Cardinals managed only 11 wins in 32 Mid-American Conference games.
Packard led the Cardinals to its best season in program history in 2008, leading to the first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance before stunning then No. 5 seeded Tennessee 71-55 in the first round.
But how long can the Cardinals' faithful obsess over what happened four years ago?
Since that remarkable season, the Cardinals have tumbled into the dark abyss of Division I women's basketball. But the time has come for this program to rise from the dead and regain its supremacy.
When athletic director Bill Scholl announced the hiring of Brady Sallee as Packard's successor, a small flame was sparked.
This program is due for success and lots of it, and Sallee appears to be the man to lead the Cardinals back to the promised land of the NCAA tournament.
Fans may think it's crazy that the Ball State program can have long-term success because it is a so-called "mid-major program." But let's be real. This is Division I basketball.
Yes, the Cardinals are in the MAC and not in the Big 12 or the Big East. And yes, the Cardinals lack a true superstar on the court.
But does that give us any reason to doubt the potential of Sallee? Absolutely not.
For those who aren't familiar with Sallee, here are a couple of quick facts. He led Eastern Illinois to its first ever Ohio Valley Conference title in 2009-10. The Panthers were 22-9 overall in 2011-12 while posting a 13-3 mark in the Ohio Valley Conference and competed in the women's National Invitation Tournament.
Sallee guided the Panthers to back-to-back 20-win seasons in 2008-09 and 2009-10. For the first time since 1987-88, his team won 24 games during the 2008-09 campaign. Sallee also headed the Panthers to three women's National Invitational Tournament appearances from 2010-12.
So, to say that Sallee doesn't have the credentials for this job would be ludicrous.
Sallee doesn't plan on coming in to rebuild the Cardinals. Rather, he plans to win and win quickly. His visions of the Cardinals' program include being in the national spotlight and on the front cover of ESPN, goals he expressed at his press conference when he was hired.
He's a player's coach, a community coach and most importantly, the man who has been put in charge of ridding this dark age of women's basketball, replenishing it with championships and historic seasons.
The hiring of Sallee is the beginning of a new era of women's basketball at Ball State, and the Cardinals will finally emerge from the rut and into the spotlight of Ball State athletics.
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