Over The Pylon

Yeah... I'm going to need that mission statement, Coach, mmmkay?

Despite the fact that I am actually closer geographically to Barack Obama’s house than Pete Lembo’s, I still consider myself a relative expert on Ball State football. Between the wonder of the interwebs, my contacts within the program, and an overall unhealthy obsession with all things Cardinal related, there is very little that has to do with the Cards that I don’t at least hear about unofficially.That dedication to being Cardinal-centric is one the reasons why I was surprised to see something on the Ball State Sports football subsite that I didn’t even know existed.

I think it’s safe to say that most major football programs are run more like a Fortune 50 company than an athletic endeavor. Between the eternal chase for athletes, donors, and making people who support your program feel valued and important coupled with the bottom-line mentality of a revenue generating sport, and it quickly becomes more Apple, Inc. than the love of the game. Ask anyone who works in a for-profit and they’ll tell you that one of the guiding documents for a busines is their mission statement, so it makes sense that BSU football would follow suit.

Perusing the site tonight, came across the apparent official BSU Football Mission Statement. What’s BSU football about? Glad you asked…

“To build and maintain a highly visible program that fosters the overall development of the student-athletes who participate and compete for Mid-American Conference Championships, and serve as a source of pride for the entire Ball State University and Muncie communities.” (via)

In one fell swoop, they’ve covered on-the-field accomplishments like MAC Championships, the off-the-field overall development of the student-athletes, the increased visibility of the program, and the connection that’s sought between the University community and the larger Muncie area. That’s  a hell of a sentence to sum up a hell of a goal. The only thing missing is a dedication to increase the number of urinals in Scheumann Stadium, but I recognize that’s just asking too much.

I’m sure that years past had unofficial (or even official) mission statements or specific goals, but kudos to Lembo and staff for actually making them public record now. If nothing else, it at least serves as a topic of evaluation come season’s end. It seems like each year in a football program a number of fans are upset and a number of fans are happy with the same season. At bare minimum this at least gives a starting point for evaluating the program and (hopefully) how far it has come.

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