The 1975 Ball State University football team won its first two games but was unsure of its ability to compete against a nationally renowned conference after being shut out by Ohio University.-á
It was Ball State's first season in the Mid-American Conference and the Cardinals wanted to prove that they could compete with the stiff competition. Ball State traveled to nationally ranked Miami University, a team the Cardinals admired, members of the 1975 Ball State football team said. The Cardinals lost the game but built upon the experience to achieve early success in the conference.-á
The year 1975 was special for the Ball State team, Jim Neddeff, Bill Rouse and Tim Irelan said, because it was the year that the Cardinals began play in the Mid-American Conference after being admitted on May 22, 1973. Since schedules were planned years in advance, Ball State had to wait two seasons before they could begin playing. During the 1970s, the Cardinals adjusted to the new conference and the move to NCAA Division I with enthusiasm, said team captains Irelan and Rouse.-á
"Well I think everybody was excited," Irelan, a defensive end, said. "The town was going nuts. They were excited because they had a new head coach and they all knew they were getting ready to go into the Mid-American Conference, so the town was really excited. The students were excited, the town was excited. It was really a neat time."-á
According to "Football at Ball State University, 1924-2001" by E. Bruce Geelhoed, MAC universities questioned whether the Cardinals would be able to compete at the league's level of play. Irelan said that the team was picked to finish last in the conference in 1975, and Rouse said that the team was not sure it could compete, either.-á
Despite the lack of confidence in Ball State, the Cardinals finished the 1975 season with an overall record of 9-2 and 4-2 in the MAC. The team finished tied for third in the conference standings.-á
"It was an unbelievable experience," Irelan said. "We beat [the University of] Toledo and Bowling Green [State University] and we weren't supposed to win any. It was a great year."-á
Rouse said that the Miami University game in week four was a turning point for Ball State in its first MAC season. Despite losing 35-28, Rouse said that the performance instilled confidence in the Cardinals to win their remaining seven games.-á
Rouse said one of his fondest memories of the season was when Ball State defeated Bowling Green State University, coach Dave McClain's alma mater, the first time McClain coached against the Falcons.-á
"It was such a thrill to win there," Rouse said. "I'll never forget this too, going to Bowling Green stadium and hearing our band marching in. I'll tell you what, we were out warming up before the game and our band came out there. It just lifted the whole team up. Talk about feeling great about being Ball State Cardinals. It was so awesome. And when we won, we picked coach McClain up and we crossed the field and it was a great celebration. It was an awesome time."-á
A year later, in Ball State's second year of MAC football, the Cardinals won the conference championship with a league record of 4-1 and an overall record of 8-3. The lone conference loss was to Western Michigan University, the Cardinals' Homecoming opponent Saturday.-á
"We weren't intimidated, we weren't worried about playing with the league," said Neddeff, the place-kicker. "We were just worried about trying to play the best that we could play and we found out pretty quickly that we had some pretty good players that showed up to play."-á
Prior to joining the MAC, Ball State was a member of the Indiana Collegiate Conference and the Conference of Midwestern Universities. The move to a more competitive and more respected conference was a big deal for the football team, Neddeff said.-á
"You've arrived," Neddeff said, who was first team all-conference in 1975. "You're sort of playing in the big time. You're playing against big teams, big name schools with a lot of history and tradition and teams that were actually ranked in the country." -á
"I really was [excited about joining the MAC]," Irelan, one of the 1975 co-recipients of the John Magnabosco Award for Most Valuable Player, said. "Because growing up in Ohio with Miami, Ohio U., Kent State, Akron and all of them, that was big stuff here in Ohio. So when I went to school over in Indiana it was really, really a big step, not just for the school but for everybody around the area."-á
Rouse, Irelan and Neddeff said McClain was a key part of the Cardinals' early success in the MAC. Irelan said that McClain was a great coach, a great recruiter and a great individual who turned the Ball State football program around. Rouse said that he knew nothing about Ball State prior to McClain recruiting him and that he even laughed when McClain said he was from Ball State.-á
"He just felt like we had the talent to compete at that level," Rouse said. "In fact, he had no question that we could. He would make sure his faith in us was instilled in us all the time. I have a lot of fond memories of coach McClain. He was a great coach, a great motivator and such a great man."
Neddeff also said that the team was unified and had close relationships that helped guide the program through the team's early years in the MAC.-á
"We played as one, we won as one," Neddeff said. "And when you think about it, if we didn't do it back then, being in the MAC only a year or two, we couldn't have accomplished what we got accomplished. We cared about each other."-á
Irelan said that the Ball State football program was a conference powerhouse in the '70s and early '80s and he fears fans have forgotten that. Rouse said that one of the greatest motivations the Cardinals had in 1975 was the fans.-á
"Sometimes when our fans get excited, you would start hearing 'We are Ball State. We are Ball State,'" Rouse said. "I'll never forget at the Miami of Ohio game the score was at 28-28 in the fourth quarter and being on the field and hearing our group of fans chanting that. That was one of the most amazing [moments]. Talk about lifting you off the field. I will never forget hearing our fans out there speak proudly of their Ball State Cardinals and yelling and chanting that. 'We are Ball State.' I still get chills thinking about it today."-á
When looking back at joining the MAC, Rouse, Irelan and Neddeff said the Cardinals were excited to compete against a higher level of competition. The men said they remember the thrills of defeating nationally respected programs and establishing Ball State as a contender in the MAC.-á
"If the other MAC teams were worried about our ability to compete with them, they found out really quick like that they were worried about the wrong thing," Neddeff said. "What they needed to be worried about was that we could compete with them."-á
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