Akron Zips vs. Ball State Cardinals, 10/18/2025, 3:30pm CST

Ball State 42 – Akron 28, Attendance: 12,249

Weather: Cloudy then storms, 81; Ticket: $15, Parking: $20 (both from Ball State)

“There’s a first for everything” by Tree

Ball State is in Muncie, Indiana. The Ball Corporation was the big employer in Muncie for years and the Ball Brothers founded Ball State. Not surprisingly, there are several nice old money museums and parks thanks to their largess. We, unfortunately, did not see any of this.  This was a Nine O’clock club weekend and it was decided that staying an hour away in Indianapolis was a far better approach. It would not be the only time Muncie / Ball State were the subject of dismissive comments by Club members, particularly those with Indiana roots.

The other reason to stay in Indianapolis was cost. Charter member Jeff’s father had a large home in Indy that could easily accommodate the crew. As with any college homecoming weekend, the hotels in Muncie did not waste the opportunity to jack up their prices. Accordingly, our visit was strictly in and out. I can’t objectively endorse a weekend in Muncie proper, but a museophile might find it worthwhile thanks to Ball philanthropy. However, I would guess the Venn diagram intersection of SMS readers and museum lovers is very small, if not non-existent.

Being homecoming and having a large crew going to the game, I bought two parking passes ($20) for the Green cash lot, aka Tailgate Town, in advance. Kickoff was 3:30 and there was a heated discussion on Friday night as to when we should arrive at the stadium. Given that it was midnight and some Texas Hold’em losses were higher than anticipated, tempers were short and the argument was long. Some of us wanted to be there early because we were not familiar with the layout and it was homecoming. Others (primarily current or prior Hoosier state residents) were saying “It’s Ball State, we can roll in whenever we want”. We deferred, incorrectly, to the locals.

Arriving at noon, we immediately hit bumper to bumper traffic. Compounding this was that we had two cars and it wasn’t entirely clear which lane we needed to be in. Ball State had closed off our street, Tillotson, at the stadium and eliminating our ability to enter Tailgate Town that way. No problem, at the now “T” intersection, you could go right for “Paid” parking or left for “Passes”. None of those “passes” lots were ours. So, as my buddy in car behind me kept asking me which lane (and recall I’ve never been to Ball State), I decided to go to the right to the “Paid” lot. Afterall, I had already paid and it didn’t say “Cash Only”.

It was now about two hours since I had finished my morning beer(s) and my prostate and bladder were conspiring to make my life miserable as the traffic continued at a snail’s pace. As I stared at the parking lot, I saw a nine-year-old sprint from the car in front of us and hit the bushes to take a pee. Presumably it wasn’t Miller Light that made him go, but nonetheless, I admired his initiative. After another five minutes we had inched forward enough that I saw a row of porta-potties ahead. I looked at my son, threw him my phone (with the paid parking passes), and told him to take the wheel. I jumped out and ran, er, walked quickly, to the lot and those green beacons of relief.

Unfortunately, when I turned the corner, the lines were three deep. Eventually, I was able to “break the seal” and head back to the car line. By that time, our group had gone through the entrance gate and they weren’t happy. Apparently, the attendant didn’t have a ticket scanner and was firm that we were in the wrong line. He demanded cash payment, and my son, who was among last night’s poker losers, had no cash. Luckily, Friday night’s winners were right behind them, and they paid for both cars.

We had about twenty people, so I immediately started up the grill, doing dogs and sausages. I got to talk to several fellow tailgaters as our sign and flag generated plenty of interest. We also had several drunk kids asking for food which was not usual. It was busy though and I didn’t really pay much attention to what was happening around us.

We were forty-five minutes to kickoff, and I was ready to wrap it up. I looked over to the other tent and was about to tell them to pack it up when I saw a scuffle starting up.  Three or four kids were jawing back and forth when the pushing started. They were getting close to the TV, so I yelled over to watch out. Then, in the corner of my eye, I saw some more fisticuffs starting up. I turned my head just in time to see a kid get thrown headfirst into our tent, knocking over tables and chairs, and sending the grill flying.

As in the case of nearly every drunken brawl, this was over in a few minutes with little damage other than some ripped clothes and a little (and I mean a little) blood. One police officer had arrived as the fracas was bubbling. With no back up, some of our crew offered to provide some support which the officer wisely declined. He said to give the kids a few minutes to tire themselves out and it will be all over. He was right.

Turned out this was a classic case of the Townie / Student rivalry fueled by lots of sun, booze and limited food. From our perspective, it was a hilariously good time to see this little tableau play out. The game was now minutes away and a couple of guys agreed to hang back and finish the packing up so we could catch kickoff.

The Cardinals play at Scheumann Stadium. It is small, seating 22,500. We hadn’t bought tickets yet and picked them up at the booth for the princely sum of $15 each. These were general admission seats and we settled in at the lower level around the twenty-yard line. The stadium is small enough that any seat is probably good enough. Most seats are bleachers with little seatbacks. There is a lawn section in one end zone if sitting on a blanket is more your speed. That side is framed by a somewhat unique architecture arch type feature which gives the otherwise nondescript stadium some flair. There is one small video screen and no scoreboard ribbons. The concessions are standard, but they are supplemented by food trucks. They sell beer, but there are no souvenir cups.

The Cardinals slogan is “Chirp Chirp” but I don’t really recall any specific cheers related to that. Their mascot, Charlie Cardinal is omnipresent during the game. At halftime, kids can enter the “Chase Charlie” 100-yard dash. It was entertaining to watch a sea of tykes chasing a big mascot across the field and into the stands. As traditions go, it is a good one and it probably generated more fan response than anything else on the field that day. The band was good but not great. The fan wardrobe at Ball State was much like the overall vibe of Indiana – comfortably dull.

With both teams entering this contest with losing records, we could only hope that equally mediocre teams would result in a competitive game. For the most part, that’s what we got, along with some aggressive coaching. Ball State’s first drive looked like a three and out. At fourth and one, from their own 34 yard line, most of us assumed the Cardinals would punt. They did not and the Zips stopped them cold. It took Akron five plays to score from there and they topped it off with a 2pt conversion. Ball State answered with a couple nice drives to go up 14 – 8. The remainder of the first half was a mix of short drives, with Ball State having a better mix of pass and run. Late in the half, the Zips managed to put together a long drive, 94 yards, to go up by one.

The second half was more exciting with some big plays ramping up the scoring. It was back and forth when play was halted due to lightning as the Zips sat on the Cardinal one-yard line, down 35 – 25. It was hard to imagine a more effective way to change momentum than with an hour rain delay. Sure enough, a well-rested Ball State defense rose to the occasion and held the Zips on third and one, forcing the field goal. Not an ideal result, but Akron was hanging on. It did not last long as Ball State returned the following kickoff 96 yards. At that point, the Zips began to press. The Cardinal defense responded with a couple of interceptions to end the game. Ball State was the better team, but not by much.

The weather forecast for this game was dicey. Muncie was on the back end a large storm font that was going to impact the game at some point. Earlier, I had floated to the crew that with a 7:30 kickoff we could catch most of the USC-Notre Dame game in South Bend if we were so inclined. However, no one in the group wanted to face that storm.

At Ball State, it became clear that most of the Nine O’clock club were indeed fair-weather fans. By half time they were whining about clouds and bailed early in the 3^rd quarter with the score 28-25. But I must admit when Ball State scored again to go up by ten, I figured it was time to go. Having sat through a two-hour storm delay at MTSU, I was willing to risk missing out on an exciting finish. I breathed a sigh of relief from the comfort of a warm car as the Cardinals ran away with it after the delay was lifted.

On paper, the Ball State experience would appear to be one to avoid. With a 0.505 record (through 2024) and 1 – 8 in the bowls, it is not a football power. And I don’t think anyone has ever asked “How about a long weekend in Muncie?” As great a sports movie as “Hoosiers” is, it doesn’t exactly paint the physical surroundings of Indiana with pastoral charm. Indeed, it is true – come for the flat landscape and stay for the bleak, gray skies.

So, of course, a BSU game is not must-see. But any time you can go to a game where the tailgating is packed and the overall experience is dirt cheap, it is money well spent. I know it is popular to disparage the MAC, but the NFL Hall of Fame is home to many former players. We saw a guy hurdling DB’s and some great hitting. Our seats were cheap, but we still managed to snag a free t-shirt (which Louie graciously gave away). Lastly, the fighting townies were both an homage to another great Indiana sports movie, “Breaking Away”, and a tailgating first for SoManyStadiums.com. Ball State – it might not be great, but it’s not bad.