Building for the Future
Ball State Athletics advances plans for ‘transformational’ Championship Performance Center
Before most people have had their first cup of coffee in the morning, Ball State University student-athletes have already gone through one of the most critical components in their daily pursuit of competitive development—a dynamic strength and conditioning session in the weight room.
All of this takes place six days a week inside Worthen Arena in a room surrounded by mirrors, where the Cardinals transform their bodies to help take their performances to the next level.
Even after achieving record program heights in 2022-23, the hunger and drive are still there for Ball State Athletics. And that has led to the pursuit of a new Championship Performance Center facility that will help student-athletes thrive—and win—for years to come.
Plans to make the facility a reality took a major step forward when Eric Foss, ’80, committed a lead gift of $4 million toward the $7.8 million facility. Mr. Foss—a native Hoosier, former executive at Pepsi Bottling Group, and former chief executive officer of Aramark—earned his degree in Marketing from the Miller College of Business. He joined the Ball State Foundation Board of Directors in 2021.
“We are grateful for Eric’s generosity,” Director of Athletics Jeff Mitchell said. “Eric has a legacy of enriching organizations and leading them to record growth, and his impact on our student-athletes will have a similar transformational influence as they pursue a new level of excellence in our Championship Performance Center.”
While Mr. Foss’ contribution advances the Center, additional need for philanthropic support remains. Mr. Mitchell, and his department’s 19 sports programs, 50 full-time coaches, and approximately 430 student-athletes, want everyone who supports the Cardinals to understand the need.
“It will be a transformational facility for Ball State Athletics,” Mr. Mitchell said. “For us to sustain success, we’re creating spaces and programs which will adequately prepare our student-athletes for competition.”
Like many buildings at Ball State’s campus, this structure will be impressive in its features and will stand out in a prime location adjacent to Worthen Arena and the Dr. Don Shondell Practice Center.
The building will feature a state-of-the-art weight room with new equipment to meet industry standards. Some areas will highlight a variety of workouts, like cardio, calisthenics, and plyometrics, and a turf strip will allow student-athletes to work on speed, power, and quickness.
“We envision this building to be more than 10,000 square feet in size,” Mr. Mitchell said. “It will triple the space that we have now and will predominately serve 18 of our 19 programs, with football having its own facility.”
Combined with the structured workout plans, the Championship Performance Center will support the department’s mission of helping student-athletes grow and develop. Aniya Kennedy, a Dietetics and Nutrition major and standout member of the women’s volleyball team, understands the benefits of what this facility will provide.
“This is a step in the right direction for Ball State in order to help get athletes here and then help them become stronger and faster,” said Ms. Kennedy, the 2023 Mid-American Conference (MAC) Freshman of the Year and a First Team All-MAC honoree.
In addition to this new facility enhancing the Cardinals’ strength and conditioning efforts, plans call for a transformation of the current Worthen Arena workout space into a “state-of-the-art sports medicine center,” according to Mr. Mitchell. This reimagined area will also double the space of the current sports medicine facilities and include hydrotherapy equipment and more rehabilitation areas.
“We aspire to completely transform the experience for our student-athletes when it comes to championship performance,” Mr. Mitchell said. “The more we can include championship in our vernacular, the more successful we can be. We operate with a growth mindset around here, and I’m really excited about this project.”
“It will be a transformational facility for Ball State Athletics. For us to sustain success, we’re going to have to have a place that will adequately prepare our athletes for competition.”
New spaces will relieve scheduling stress, improve care
As Ball State University’s director of strength and conditioning for Olympic sports, Jason Roberson and his staff work with 18 of the University’s 19 intercollegiate sports in the current weight room located in the halls of Worthen Arena.
In the current setup, Mr. Roberson and staff do their best to accommodate each team and hundreds of athletes in the roughly 3,400 square-foot space.
“The biggest issue we face is the team size,” he said. “We have several teams that have well over 20 athletes, and we just don’t have enough space in our room right now to house more than one team at a time.
“Having a larger space would allow us to hold two teams at a time for workouts. That really helps with our scheduling.”
The new Championship Performance Center will also enable athletes the ability to come in on their own time, especially if they have an internship or are pursuing an off-campus opportunity.
“Trying to schedule around practice times and class schedules is really difficult,” Mr. Roberson said. “For our athletes who are Nursing majors, for example, they can come in whenever they need in order to get that time in without having to work around another team.”
The same sentiment can be echoed by the athletic trainers in the sports medicine department, who also serve 18 of Ball State’s 19 sports inside Worthen
Arena at the Sayers “Bud” Miller Athletic Training Facility.
“It can be hard to function at times with our current space,” said Shawn Comer, MS ’92, director of sports medicine. “With a larger space, we won’t have to work around everybody’s schedule and have teams come in at different times of the day.”
As part of the two-step process, the new, expanded spaces will also provide more room for additional equipment, such as hydrotherapy pools and weight
racks, to better serve each athlete.
“With the ability to practice more modern techniques and the use of state-of-the-art equipment, we will be able to provide different rehabilitation methods to help our athletes heal faster and return to competition,”
Mr. Comer said. “This will be huge for us.”
