A new book about Ball State basketball has joined the shelves of books in local bookstores. "Ball State's Men's Basketball, 1918-2003," is written by two Ball State professors; Warren Vander Hill and Tony Edmonds.
Edmonds wrote the first half from 1918 to the mid-1960s, while Vander Hill wrote from the mid-1960s to 2003.
Before this book, Edmonds, who joined Ball State in 1969, wrote a thesis about Ball State men's basketball. Within the thesis, Edmonds reported that Ball State basketball, "accurately reflects the kind of institution Ball State evolved into."
He further explained that before Ball State became a university in 1965, "Sports were seen as something that just really wasn't that important."
However, that all changed when Jim Holstein was hired.
Holstein was the first coach who was not a member of the Ball State faculty.
"Jim Holstein changed the image of Ball State men's basketball," Vander Hill said.
Suddenly Ball State was more interested in its athletic program as evidenced by their investment in hiring an actual coach.
Both authors said that the progression in the basketball program parallels the progression of Ball State as a university.
Vander Hill has always been interested in sports, especially basketball.
"I've always been intrigued by the unique place that this sport plays in Ball State's history, because quite candidly it's the only major sport at Ball State that has ever achieved what I call true national recognition," Vander Hill said.
Vander Hill has been a member of the faculty since 1960 and served as provost for 15 years.
Vander Hill said during his time here he's wanted to have a proper historical study of Ball State on record. Their book follows this desire with a documentation of men's basketball in photographs and narrative captions.
The book is one of three within the Images of Sport series. The other two books deal with Ball State baseball and football.
All proceeds from sales for this book will go to student scholarships.
The authors' interest in basketball is deeply rooted and they soon became interested in the effect that the sport has had on our culture.
"It's always struck me that you can learn a lot about a culture, a society, a group of people, a nation, by looking at how they react to sports," Edmonds said.
During their research, both men stumbled upon interesting information that surprised even them. Edmonds learned that for one season in 1926-1927, Ball State had a little boy in a three-piece suit as their mascot.
Vander Hill's most atypical moment in terms of pattern was the hiring of Rick Majerus as head coach.
"I think having him here even for a two year period of time was a very unique moment in men's basketball history," Vander Hill said. "It really set a different standard as far as the caliber of players that we had."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
