Ball State’s final home game of the 2012 season against Ohio will have some additions on Nov. 14 in Schuemann Stadium.
In a news release sent by the university, Scheumann Stadium will have a video board for the first time, the team will wear black jerseys and one fan has the chance to receive a car. All of the promotions are part of a continued effort to raise attendance numbers to watch Ball State.
“This is exactly the kind of excitement and offerings that I’d like to see around our home games,” coach Pete Lembo said. “We want to make our home games entertaining events where the game itself is the centerpiece, but there’s a lot of things going on to enhance the atmosphere.”
Lembo said most of the credit for creating the promotions for the Senior Night to athletic director Bill Scholl and the athletic administrators.
The video board was made possible through Ball State’s corporate sponsors and will be used just for the Nov. 14 game, but there is the possibility a video board could be installed permanently in the future.
The black jerseys had been in the making since the spring, when the order was put through to Nike. Ball State tried as much as possible to withhold the announcement of the jerseys. Over the summer, a picture of the black jerseys leaked, and when Lembo was asked about it over the summer, he responded with “you’ll have to see.”
Tuesday he explained what went into getting the jerseys and when to wear them.
“The timing of when we would actually play with them, we wanted to put together a ‘black out’ type game,” he said. “Over the summer we looked at what game would be the most fit for that.”
That’s when the athletic department decided on the Ohio game. The 8 p.m. game will be televised on ESPN2 or ESPNU, and until its loss on Oct. 27 Ohio was ranked nationally.
Lembo also said just the jerseys will be black, and the helmet and pants will be the usual white, but other combinations of uniforms in the future could be possible.
Linebacker Travis Freeman said the promotions for the game shows Ball State is moving in the right direction.
“It’s exciting to me,” he said. “It’s something that draws more people to the stadium, and there’s a lot of things you can do with a video board. I’m excited, honestly.”
The opportunity to receive a car is courtesy of Stoops Automotive Group and there will be opportunities for other game promotions. The winner of the car will receive a 2013 GMC Terrain on a two-year lease. The winner must be in attendance to win.
Ball State’s Student Government Association and Cardinal Wings will be hosting a t-shirt exchange from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m on Nov. 12. During the exchange, any student that brings a shirt from another university or a high school can receive a black Ball State shirt for the game.
All shirts received will be donated to the Muncie Mission.
Even with all the promotions announced for a game in two weeks, Lembo was quick to note that his team isn’t overlooking its next game against Toledo.
“We’re excited about the atmosphere that will be surrounded around the Ohio game,” Lembo said.
The final home game will be the encore to a football season that saw the athletics department bring a proactive approach to getting more students and fans into Scheumann Stadium. With the promotions announced for the final home game, it seems the athletic department is trying to give a few more reasons for students to come to the game.
But if anything, at least Freeman will enjoy wearing the black jerseys.
“Black always seems to make you look more aggressive,” he said. “It’s probably one of my uniform colors of choice.”
