All last week there was an aura surrounding Ball State women's volleyball (15-15, 7-9) coach Dave Boos. There was an extra spring in his step and a big smile on his face — a smile that was missing for several weeks.Winning five of six and four straight will do that for anyone, especially when a four-game high matches the best streak of the season.
Each week, The Daily News' sports crew picks its PPQ - the play, player and quote of the week.But it doesn't stop there. With the help of our online voters, the weekly fan choice is also featured.
Three of the 10 Ball State University women's athletics teams are now searching for leadership after the athletics department announced on Wednesday it would not be renewing the contracts of soccer coach Michael Lovett and field hockey coach Annette Payne.Lovett and Payne join former women's tennis coach Kathy Bull as the three Cardinals' coaches fired within the past month. Bull was fired on Oct. 20 amidst six NCAA violations.
A tired and limping Ball State University football team ran smack into the best team in the Mid-American Conference on Wednesday night.Quarterback Dan LeFevour led Central Michigan University to a 35-3 thumping of Ball State at Scheumann Stadium. The senior threw for 344 yards and four touchdowns. He also led the Chippewas with 59 rushing yards and another touchdown.
The Ball State University athletics department announced Wednesday that it would not renew field hockey coach Annette Payne's contract for the upcoming season. Below is a look at the highlights and lowlights of the soccer team during Payne's nine-year tenure as assistant and head coach.
The Ball State University men's swimming team faces a tall order when it plays host to Grand Valley State University and Findlay University at the Doug Coers Invitational this weekend. Simply put, Grand Valley State has them outnumbered."Grand Valley has about 10 more people than us," coach Bob Thomas said. "So beating them is a tough task, but last year it came down to the last event, and we'd like to bring it down to the wire again."
Coach Stan Parrish said the atmosphere in the stands was tough for his seniors to witness. The weather coincided with a bleak and almost non-existent fan base. The attendance at Scheumann Stadium was a season-low 5,736 people. That is a difference of 18,125 people when compared to the Western Michigan game one year ago, which broke the attendance record with 23,861 fans in the stands.
Wednesday's firings of soccer coach Michael Lovett and field hockey coach Annette Payne were the third announced by Ball State athletics director Tom Collins this year. The first was women's tennis coach Kathy Bull in October.In all, five coaches have been axed under Collins' watch, while seven have resigned for various reasons.
Ball State scored 88 points in Saturday's season-opening win vs. Valparaiso University.In coach Billy Taylor's first two seasons, the Cardinals only reached the 80-point mark twice in regulation — an 82-71 win vs. Central Michigan University on Jan. 13, 2008, and an 82-69 win at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Jan. 22, 2009. Ball State also hit the mark in an 84-82 loss in overtime last season at Western Michigan University.
The Ball State University athletics department announced Wednesday that it would not renew soccer coach Michael Lovett's contract for the upcoming season. Included is a look at the highlights and lowlights of the soccer team during Lovett's nearly two-year tenure as coach.
If this season could be summed up in one word for Laura Seibold-Caudill, it would be goals.The women's swimming and diving coach set out a number of goals for the team this season, one of which was achieved last weekend as the Cardinals defended their title at the House of Champions meet. This weekend is another goal Seibold-Caudill has set for her team as the Cardinals hold the Douglas Coers Invitational.
Central Michigan University was in control of Wednesday night's game from the start and defeated Ball State 35-3. Dan LeFevour had another big day at Scheumann Stadium going 25-of-28 for 344 yards and four touchdowns. He added a rushing touchdown and broke Byron Leftwich's Mid-American Conference career passing record.
The Ball State University athletics department Wednesday evening announced that the contracts of soccer coach Mike Lovett and field hockey coach Annette Payne will not be renewed.The contracts of soccer assistant coach Amber Alexander and field hockey assistant coach Liz Sanders will also not be renewed.
It was probably the most memorable art class in MiQuale Lewis' life.Lewis expected to end his career at Fort Wayne Snider High School with plenty of scholarship offers to play Division I football. He had the tools required to take the next step, and the vision, the speed and the natural ability to find a hole and accelerate through it.
The DN's football beat writer breaks down the positional battles in Wednesday night's game.
In the chaos there was calm for a split-second, then an eruption. Danielle Gratton had single-handedly turned the tide. Gratton positioned herself under the basket and drew a charge with just over a minute to go with the game still very much in doubt.Trailing by one, 58-59 with the ball and 1:05 on the clock, Ball State (0-2) got a great look at the basket. Senior Audrey McDonald got the ball on the left wing and put up a shot. The ball went halfway down and then popped back out.
Ball State sophomore middle blocker Kelsey Brandl was named the Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Monday afternoon. This marks the second time this season that Brandl has been recognized for excellence on the court.
In her first season running the Cardinals, Kelly Packard posted a 26-9 record, which included a 14-2 Mid-American Conference record. She also led Ball State to its first NCAA Tournament appearance and a 71-55 upset of the University of Tennessee.
Instead of paying a Football Championship Subdivision school hundreds of thousands of dollars to visit Muncie, Ball State University will play a home-and-home series with FCS-member Illinois State University beginning in 2013.Ball State will visit Illinois State on Aug. 29, 2013 to open the season and will host the return game Aug. 30, 2014. Athletics director Tom Collins said the series was good for Ball State.
