Ball State University

Ball State University
Former name
Indiana State Normal School – Eastern Division (1918–1922)
Ball Teachers College (1922–1929)
Ball State College (1961–1965)
Motto"We Fly"[1]
TypePublic research university
Established1918; 106 years ago (1918)
FounderLucius L. Ball, William C. Ball, Edmund B. Ball, Frank C. Ball, George A. Ball
AccreditationHLC
Academic affiliations
Space-grant
Endowment$341.3 million (2023)[2]
PresidentGeoffrey Mearns
ProvostAnand Marri
Academic staff
1,245
Students20,440 (fall 2023)[3]
Undergraduates14,874 (fall 2023)
Postgraduates5,566 (fall 2023)
Location
Muncie
,
Indiana
,
United States
CampusSmall city, 1,140 acres (4.6 km2)
Other campuses
NewspaperThe Ball State Daily News
ColorsCardinal and white[4]
   
NicknameCardinals
Sporting affiliations
MascotCharlie Cardinal
Websitewww.bsu.edu

Ball State University (Ball State or BSU) is a public research university in Muncie, Indiana. It has three off-campus centers in Indianapolis, Indiana, Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Fishers, Indiana.

In 1917, the Ball brothers, industrialists and founders of the Ball Corporation, acquired the foreclosed Indiana Normal Institute and gave the school and surrounding land to the State of Indiana. The Indiana General Assembly accepted the donation in the spring of 1918, with an initial 235 students enrolling at the Indiana State Normal School – Eastern Division on June 17, 1918.

Ball State is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".[5] The university is composed of seven academic colleges. As of the 2023-2024 academic year, the total enrollment was 20,440 students with 14,874 undergraduates and 5,566 post-graduate and doctoral students. The university offers about 120 undergraduate majors and 130 minor areas of study[6] and more than 100 masters, doctoral, certificate, and specialist degrees.[7]

Ball State athletic teams compete in Division I of the NCAA and are known as the Ball State Cardinals. The university is a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and Ball State's volleyball program is a member of the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA).

  1. ^ "Ball State University Brand Messaging". www.bsu.edu. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  2. ^ As of June 30, 2023. "BSU Foundation Annual Report 2022-2023" (PDF). Retrieved August 15, 2024.
  3. ^ "Common Data Set 2023–2024 – Ball State University" (PDF). bsu.edu.
  4. ^ "Ball State Brand Guide" (PDF). Retrieved August 26, 2022.
  5. ^ "Carnegie Classifications | Institution Lookup". Carnegieclassifications.iu.edu. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  6. ^ "Majors and Academics – Ball State University". Cms.bsu.edu. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  7. ^ "The Graduate School – Ball State University". Cms.bsu.edu. Archived from the original on November 3, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2016.