Tom Collins and Pete Lembo sold us out.
They can put all the spin on the decision they want, but the fact of the matter is that sending Ball State's 2011 season opener against Indiana to Lucas Oil Stadium proves that they don't care enough about winning this game or being loyal to the Cardinal faithful.
I was there for the 2006 matchup between the Cardinals and the Hoosiers in Scheumann Stadium. The energy there was palpable, rivaling anything we saw during the undefeated run of 2008.
Ball State fans narrowly outnumbered Indiana fans that year, but at least there was a feeling that it was a Ball State home game. The only thing that will make Ball State feel like the home team in Lucas Oil are the red uniforms they will wear.
Any illusions that Cardinals will outnumber Hoosiers on Sept. 3 are just that — a mirage.
One aspect Collins is trying to sell us is that it will be good for the 32,000 Indianapolis-area Ball State alumni. However, there are nearly 100,000 IU alumni in that area as well, so that logic may not play out as Collins hopes.
None of this comes as a shock, though. New Indiana coach Kevin Wilson let it slip that this game could be headed to Indianapolis when he was introduced in December. The original contract from 2009 even listed Indianapolis as a possible site for this contest.
Common sense appeared to have been restored when it was announced that the game would be played in Muncie. Rational thought has since been thrown out the window.
Sure, Ball State will make plenty of money by gouging prices for the game at Lucas Oil. They will certainly get more people into the 63,000-seat stadium and will charge about $40 per person.
Student prices — who knows? Even if tickets are "free," however, we can all expect a healthy hike in our athletics fee for 2011-12.
But a half-filled pro football arena will not have the same atmosphere that would exist if Scheumann Stadium was filled to the brim.
Collins has showed us once again that making money for the athletics department is more important than pulling out a victory.
Up until this point, I thought that Ball State might have had a chance. Both teams are starting over with new coaching staffs, and I thought having the home-field advantage would at least give the Cardinals a chance at getting Lembo a defining win in just his first game.
No more.
Now Ball State will be the massive underdog, and the cardinal and white-clad fans will be lost amid the cream and crimson. Since it's all just red and white, everyone will just blend together, but the noise output by the Hoosiers will be noticeably louder.
This is also being sold as a good thing for the student-athletes, and I get that. It probably will be pretty cool to be on the same field where Peyton Manning and the rest of the NFL stars they look up to play.
You know what else gets athletes excited? Winning.
That's what it comes down to. Collins took the money rather than trusting the football team and Lembo to build a program. Long-term winning reaps more benefits than any fast cash.
That's what we get from a shortsighted program, though. Here's to an 0-1 start to 2011.
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