The chances of the Ball State University men's volleyball team landing a top national or international recruit just got a little bit better.
Coach Joel Walton said Wednesday that the athletics department has given the team an additional 1.5 scholarships for the upcoming seasons and the opportunity to become more competitive recruiting top players.
"It's something that is going to allow us to be more competitive and close the gap," Walton said. "We are now going to be able to reward current players in our program and offer better opportunities for prospective recruits to come to Ball State."
Most of the top ranked teams throughout the nation, Walton said, have been able to recruit with 4.5 scholarships, allowing them to make more attractive scholarship offers to potential out-of-state students.
In the most recent recruiting class, Ball State was able to sign two All-American high school players from the Midwest, but none of the Cardinals' recruits were in ESPN's top 25 recruit rankings.
This is the first time Ball State will be operating an off-season with more than two scholarships in the last seven years.
The athletics department reduced the amount of men's volleyball scholarships in 2003 as part of a compromise after former athletics director Bubba Cunningham proposed eliminating the sport in a cost-saving move. The university rejected Cunningham's proposal to eliminate the team in part because of the overwhelming protest from the community.
Ball State has not won a Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association title since this scholarship reduction resulting in a nine-year title drought — its longest in program history.
"The amount of scholarship resources compared to our competitors has it difficult on us," Walton aid. "It definitely has been hard in that we have wanted to recruit some players in previous years that we couldn't make a good offer to."
Ball State finished last season ranked No. 14 in the coaches poll and lost to Ohio State in the MIVA Tournament semifinals. It was also the fourth consecutive season the Cardinals have been eliminated by the Buckeyes, which has had a larger operation budget and amount of scholarships than Ball State.
Walton said Ball State likely won't see the benefits of these additional scholarships for another couple of seasons.
"Only time is going to tell and it's likely not in this first year," he said. "We're going to see it two to three years down the road and we're lining up that recruiting goal."
The new scholarships, Walton said, will allow him to expand his recruiting beyond the Midwest.
The Cardinals have not had a non-Midwest player on their roster since outside attacker Mark Rumschik, from Orchard Park, N.Y., in 2007.
Walton also said he has not ruled out using the additional scholarships to try to recruit an eligible player from Brazil or Europe. However, Walton said the player would have to be a standout for Ball State to make an offer to a foreign exchange student.
"Even with those kids though it takes a significant scholarship offer to get them over here," he said. "Not only do you have to find a kid who wants to study here, but they have to someone who can be a four-year starter. Otherwise it doesn't make financial sense."
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