One year ago, Ball State held its first game under temporary lights against Indiana State University. The game set an attendance record for Ball State football, and brought over 7,000 students to the game.
A year later, Ball State has installed a permanent lights and will host thier second night game to kick off the 2004 season against Boston College.
"We need to schedule our games in times that are more appropriate for the fans," Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham said. "So that's what we are doing by putting in the lights."
Cunningham feels that the installation of the lights, which allows evening and late afternoon start times, will increase student and community attendance.
"The anecdotal evidence in Muncie is that students want to sleep in, watch the Big 10 game of the week, and then they're available Saturday evening for games," he said. "We have a youth football and a youth soccer program that are incredibly well-attended by this community, those all wrap up by four or five o'clock in the afternoon, so people are more available. A lot of people have two jobs, or work on Saturday morning, or do yardwork, or play golf. So all those people who don't normally attend football are available at six or seven o'clock at night."
The first two home games of the season, against Boston College on September 2 and September 25 will begin at 7:00, followed by Homecoming against Eastern Michigan at 2:00 on October 9. The final two games of the season are 4 p.m. start times against Northern Illinois on October 30 and Central Florida on November 13.
"It doesn't surprise me that they stay at home at 2 p.m. and watch Notre Dame play USC instead of coming out to a 2 o'clock game at the stadium," Associate Athletic Director Matt Wolfert said. "We understand that, that's why we got the lights."
The light construction, which began in late July, went off without any problems, according to Dale Koppin from Musco Lighting, who supervised construction.
"It went just about as we expected," he said.
In fact, it only took six weeks from the construction of the lighting equipment began until the lights were completely installed.
"I think both contractors did a very good job, they did what they said they would they were well ahead of schedule and I think it really does add to the stadium," Cunningham said. "Just the appearance of the staduim looks a little more big-time then it has in the past and again the flexibility of scheduling is something we hope really makes a differnce in attendance.
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