From the moment it became known Dante Love would never play football again, a groundswell of support to get his No. 86 retired began to grow.
While it's a great idea and would be neat to see on senior night, it's not likely to happen.
This is not because there is resistance to the idea from anyone in Ball State University's athletics department. Athletics director Tom Collins said last week it is something the university is considering, but there is a specific way it has to happen.
"I think anything like that we would certainly consider, but we have certain protocols," Collins said. "There's a committee set up with the Hall of Fame. The recommendation is sent up [there] and approved."
However, there are more things that must be factored into the decision of whether to retire the No. 86.
To start, Ball State football has never retired a number in the program's history.
While Love's situation is completely different than any other Cardinal star, does that mean he should be the first in the 84-year history of Ball State football?
I'm not too sure, especially when considering Love isn't the only star to have worn No. 86 at Ball State.
The man whose school receiving records Love was on pace to break before his injury also wore No. 86. Dante Ridgeway was so dominant at Ball State, he was able to declare for the NFL draft a year early and actually get drafted (which is the only reason Love was close enough to break the records).
He played three seasons at Ball State from 2002-04, culminating in 2004 when he was named a finalist for the Fred Biletnikoff Award, which is given annually to the nation's top wide out, along with Taylor Stubblefield and Braylon Edwards. That year Ridgeway paced the nation with 105 catches and was second with 1,399 receiving yards.
This means it's not right to retire No. 86 after only Love.
If the athletics department decides to retire the number in lieu of what happened to Love, they should retire it after both Dantes. Ridgeway is just as deserving as Love to have his number retired.
The problem with retiring the number and including Ridgeway is that it would open the door to all the other greats who deserve to have their numbers retired.
I don't really care one way or the other.
There is something to be said for the schools that don't retire numbers, and it's common in college football. No players are held above others, no matter how great they were.
However, I can also see the other side where you give the greats the highest honor by retiring their numbers and forever show them respect for what they did.
If Ball State decides to retire Love's number, then it needs to do the right thing and recognize all the other stars who came before him. No matter what way the university goes, Collins said it likely won't happen in the near future.
"Is it something we are going to do immediately? I would say probably not," Collins said about retiring Love's number. "We've got other things we need to do first, so it might happen somewhere down the road."
Write to Levin at ltblack@bsu.edu
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