Derek Schultz: Ball State University’s new football coach has a history of turnarounds and an aggressive goal for MAC dominance

It’s a short drive from Fishers to Muncie, but Mike Uremovich is hoping to transport Ball State University much further in the college football world than his quick commute up Interstate 69.

Progress at Ball State is a tall task for the former Butler University head coach, who was hired by third-year Athletic Director Jeff Mitchell to take over a program that has limped through 10 losing seasons since 2014. But Uremovich is coming in confident, both creating and embracing hefty expectations at the helm of the Cardinals.

“Our goal is to win the MAC [Mid-American Conference] every year,” declared Uremovich, who is entering his sixth month on the job. “When the new coach comes in and says, ‘We’re going to get this thing built over the next three years and have a winning program’ … well, what does that say to the juniors and seniors? You know what I mean? To set it at anything less than [winning the conference every year] is doing a disservice to the kids that are in the program right now.”

A conference title is something Ball State has claimed just once since 1996—a COVID-shortened 2020 campaign that also included the program’s first bowl victory and top-25 ranking in the final national polls. Like the pandemic’s wonky schedules and empty stadiums, however, the success from that season was short-lived. The Cardinals have been unable to carry any momentum from that triumph, sputtering to an 18-31 mark over their last four seasons.

That’s why Mitchell and company tagged Uremovich, who most recently turned around a stale Butler program on the FCS level and also has an NAIA reclamation at Saint Francis (Illinois) under his belt. Ball State is making the exact same small-division bet on Uremovich that other in-state programs have scored big on recently. We saw Indiana State University hit with Josh Schertz, who had only Division II head coaching experience before guiding the Sycamores to a 32-win season—easily their best since the days of the legendary Larry Bird—in 2024. That same year, Curt Cignetti, having spent the previous decades dominating the D-II and FCS levels, ushered in the best season in Indiana University’s modern history.

Like those two, Uremovich has previous stops on several rungs of the football ladder (high school, NAIA, Division III, FCS), but that’s not to say he doesn’t come with major experience. The Cardinals’ new head man coached 10 straight FBS seasons from 2012-2021 with stops at Northern Illinois, Temple and N.C. State, so he has plenty of familiarity with Ball State’s level and the MAC in general. He also carries plenty of local ties as an Indiana native and Purdue graduate, with his first coaching stint coming at McCutcheon High School in Lafayette almost 30 years ago.

Uremovich’s strong conference and recruiting familiarity, plus his “won at every level” bona fides, are reasons he popped onto Mitchell’s radar and never came off it.

“We were targeting somebody that had had head coaching experience, but when we were looking at our candidate pool and saw that [Uremovich] had taken some programs that had not been successful and turned it around, that was big,” Mitchell said. “I took comfort in knowing we’re dealing with someone that isn’t scared of change and has had to deal with limited resources before. But now he’s at a place [in Ball State] where he’s had more than he’s ever had before, and he’s utilizing all of that.”

While Butler was a quick renovation for Uremovich, producing a 23-11 mark overall and winning campaigns in each of his three seasons, his previous head coaching stop at Saint Francis was more of a slow build. Uremovich took the Fighting Saints from a one-win season in 2004 to the NAIA national quarterfinals and a top-10 ranking in his final season in 2010. Long waits are not as excusable in today’s major college football landscape, as transfer portal and NIL deals make quick turnarounds more attainable.

Even as a moderately resourced program on the FBS level, Ball State has several advantages to tap. Player development, educational prioritization and limited exposure to the major college football machine (as one would get at a program like Michigan or Mississippi) make Muncie an attractive option for players seeking more of a traditional experience in collegiate athletics. Those are attributes Uremovich believes he can sell.

“I think we’re in a great spot in recruiting because we can take advantage of the fact that Power Five schools are taking fewer high school players because they want the quick fix right now and they don’t have time to develop guys. We’re still going to get high school players and develop them,” Uremovich said. “For guys in the portal, some from Power Five maybe sign there because of the logo and the NIL but then realize it’s not fun to stand on the sideline, and they want to be out there and produce.”

“[The NFL is] going to give an opportunity to a 1,000-yard rusher out of the MAC way before they’re going to take the third-string running back from an SEC school on the kickoff team,” Uremovich continued. “If you want a shot, it’s about production, and we can provide that.”

Development might be up to Uremovich, but the resources will still be up to Mitchell and his cohorts, as they’ll be tasked to drum up fan and donor support.

That’s a challenging ask at Ball State, where student and alumni affinity for the institution itself doesn’t always translate to the major athletic programs. Football, outside of the COVID dream season, and men’s basketball, which hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament in the 21st century, each have suffered long periods of mediocrity leading to apathy. When walking around campus, you’ll often see students wearing Purdue and IU gear—to the point where even Ball State Athletics has spoofed the common practice in a series of YouTube videos called “Cardinal Sinners,” in which Ball State athletes go around campus to confront students wearing anything other than Cardinals attire.

That said, Mitchell hasn’t been bashful about activating fans and donors behind the athletic administration’s and university’s firm commitment to winning—and not just with Uremovich and the football program. There have been nearly $15 million worth of athletic facility upgrades on Mitchell’s watch across the board, with the new $8 million Eric Foss Performance Center still on the way. Just in the past two years, the Cardinals have also produced nine championship teams, highlighted by the women’s basketball team’s MAC regular-season and tournament championship sweep and ensuing NCAA tournament breakthrough this past March.

With Ball State’s brain trust aligned behind a new head coach in Uremovich who is used to winning, Cardinals fans are now hoping to veer onto a road toward sustained success.

“As we go into an unprecedented period of change in our enterprise, somebody [like Uremovich] that has proven to be nimble, resourceful and creative is going to pay off for us,” Mitchell said. “Having someone who is willing to roll up their sleeves … to win while providing a great Ball State experience for our athletes is really important to me, and Mike shares that value.”•

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From Peyton Manning’s peak with the Colts to the Pacers’ most recent roster makeover, Schultz has talked about it all as a sports personality in Indianapolis for more than 15 years. Besides his written work with IBJ, he’s active in podcasting and show hosting. You can follow him on X @Schultz975.