Ball State Athletics Prepares for a New Era After House v. NCAA Settlement
Photo by Don L. Rogers, ’77.
Director of Athletics Jeff Mitchell outlines how Ball State is adapting to revenue sharing, evolving roster strategies, and the growing importance of philanthropy in college athletics.
The ever-evolving landscape of college athletics presents new challenges and opportunities each year. The latest transformational shift came in the Summer of 2025 with a landmark class-action antitrust lawsuit, House v. NCAA, which permits the NCAA to allow schools to share revenue directly with student-athletes.
How does this affect Ball State University and its student-athletes? Learn more in this Q&A with Director of Athletics Jeff Mitchell:
How does this settlement affect how Ball State Athletics does business?
The House v. NCAA settlement formalizes a shift that has been steadily developing as intercollegiate athletics modernizes. This new model allows student-athletes to benefit from additional financial resources through revenue sharing, and it challenges all of us to be even more disciplined, strategic, and intentional in how we operate.
We view this as an opportunity to advance. This adjustment requires us to sharpen our focus on resource alignment, budget planning, and long-term decision-making across the department. While the structure is changing, our core priorities are not. We remain unwavering in our commitment to support student-athlete success by prioritizing academic excellence, competitive integrity, and responsible stewardship of our resources.
How are teams approaching roster construction with this settlement?
Roster construction has become more intentional and strategic than ever before. With roster limits in place for many sports, our coaches are carefully balancing development, retention, and recruitment while navigating an increasingly active transfer portal environment.
We continue to value development of the student-athlete and the significance of creating a positive culture for our teams. This framework reinforces the importance of clear communication with student-athletes about the expectations of Division I student-athletes and our commitment to student success. I applaud our coaches who have worked diligently to understand and adapt to this new model.
Members of Ball State Athletics’ administration, left to right: Dr. Lindsey Blom, senior associate athletic director for championship performance; Emma Kumar, senior associate athletic director for revenue generation/senior woman administrator; Matt Brown, associate athletic director for competitive strategy & personnel; Jeff Mitchell, director of athletics; Dr. Lauren Rhodes, deputy athletics director/chief operating officer; and Ryne Hillenberg, ’08, senior associate athletic director for compliance and student-athlete development. Photo by Jordan Kartholl, ’10.
How important is private philanthropy in this new endeavor?
Private philanthropy always has been essential to our success, and its impact has never been more critical than it is today.
Philanthropic support fuels our competitive excellence in three powerful ways:
- It empowers our student-athletes to achieve academic success. Your generosity helps our student-athletes earn a Ball State degree while preparing them for fulfilling careers and meaningful lives.
- It strengthens our rosters. Donor support allows us to recruit exceptional talent, retain emerging stars, and sustain competitive excellence.
- It elevates our ability to compete for championships. Philanthropy directly influences our ability to compete for and win conference championships, reinforcing Ball State’s position as a premier Mid-American Conference institution.
How is Ball State Athletics positioning itself for success in this new era?
Ball State Athletics enters this new era from a position of strength. Over the past five years, our Cardinals have captured 16 conference championships while achieving record-high graduation rates, academic progress rates, and cumulative grade point averages. In 2025, we were honored with the prestigious Cartwright Award as the MAC’s top overall athletics department for competitive success, academic achievement, and civic engagement.
This momentum fuels our confidence. Our athletics administration continues to work collaboratively with campus partners to invest in student-athlete success. We are leveraging the power of the Ball State brand and the pride of our alumni, friends, and fans to thrive in this evolving environment.
Sustainable success, especially for our revenue-generating sports including football, men’s and women’s basketball, and women’s volleyball, depends on growth in two key areas:
- We must increase individual fan support. In the heart of East Central Indiana, we offer amazing entertainment for our communities with the drama and energy of competitive Division I athletics! I invite our alumni, friends, and fans to make a commitment to buy season tickets to every ticketed sport and make a charitable donation to the Cardinal Excellence Fund or the sport fund of your choice.
- We must increase corporate support. Peak Sports MGMT is our new multimedia rights team dedicated to corporate sponsorships. We’re seeing an increase in revenue from this new relationship already in the first year of this partnership. We are bullish on the advancement we can make in this category. We value corporate involvement not only for the financial support, but also for the professional connections it creates for our student-athletes across Indiana and beyond.
