After Ball State Athletics announced Mike Neu was being dismissed as Ball State football’s head coach Saturday morning, Director of Athletics Jeff Mitchell met with the media during halftime of the Ball State men’s basketball home game against Indiana State.
“I appreciate and value Mike's leadership, but the results matter too,” Mitchell said. “I think it was evaluated over the course of a couple seasons and after conversations with other university administrators, it was time to make this decision.”
Neu – who is tied for fourth-most wins as a head coach (40) – was let go with two games remaining in the season. Though those contests haven’t been played, the Cardinals are already ineligible for a bowl game or a Mid-American Conference title with a 3-7 record. It’s the fourth-straight losing season with Neu at the helm.
The decision to move on was made this week, according to Mitchell. Replacing Neu for the rest of the year will be offensive line coach Colin Johnson. Johnson – who is a Ball State alum like Neu – and the rest of the coaching staff learned about the move this morning.
“I've admired him from the first time I got here and thought he's really good at relating to the players,” Mitchell said. “I see it in the locker room, I see it on road trips and I see how he interacts with those young men. I feel really comfortable with his leadership at this time.”
Ball State will begin the coaching search ‘right away’ according to Mitchell. He believes the timing allows the program to prepare for recruitment and to make moves in the transfer portal.
“It's certainly something that wasn't thought about lightly,” he said. “But I think taking into account when signing day is and when the NCAA portal opens, looking at the carousel with other college teams having made leadership transitions and having positions open currently, that it just made a lot of sense to do it, and I realized that there's some disruption to it.
“But at the end of the day, as a university, the alignment was solid on making the decision.”
Mitchell also acknowledged that fans’ opinions were on his radar and did play a factor in the decision. But that doesn't change his opinion on how difficult the move was. Neu spoke with the team Saturday morning and Mitchell will be talking to the Cardinals tomorrow morning.
“We all care for those student-athletes, and they've had a tough season,” Mitchell said. “It's been a tough season for everybody involved. I'm encouraged that we've got high-character coaches in that locker room who are going to continue to pour into that team.
"When I addressed the staff today, I acknowledged that they are stand-up gentlemen and women, that they are respected and that they have the best interest of our student-athletes at heart. I expect that that will continue over the course of the season.”
Johnson will make his Ball State head coaching debut when the Cardinals host Bowling Green Saturday, Nov. 23. The game will begin at 2 p.m.
Contact Zach Carter via email at zachary.carter@bsu.edu or on X @ZachCarter85.
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