When word spread of Tom Collins' decision to resign as the Ball State athletic director, there was a long sigh of relief across campus, almost as if the entire student body collectively said, "It's about time."
And for a number of reasons, that feeling is justified.
Collins was responsible for failing to retain former Ball State football coach Brady Hoke in 2008. Instead of offering a fair amount of money to Hoke's assistant coaches and upgrading the football facilities, Collins balked and Hoke bolted. It was as if Collins didn't care.
Well, we know the rest. Hoke went on to San Diego State, where he led the Aztecs to a 9-4 record and a 35-14 victory over Navy in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl in 2010. Then, he landed one of the most prestigious positions in all of sports, the head-coaching gig at Michigan.
With Hoke gone, Collins hired Stan Parrish as Ball State's next coach, a move that drew plenty of well-deserved criticism. Parrish hadn't held a head coaching position since 1988 and had a 27-game winless streak when he took over.
Collins also headed an athletic department that was coined "racially hostile," by former men's basketball coach Ronny Thompson. The athletics department has since been consistently walking on thin ice with the NCAA, currently on probation and has been sued twice by former coaches, including Thompson and former women's tennis coach Kathy Bull.
After Thompson left, Collins faced a plethora of problems, leading to a complete makeover of the athletics department. News of Thompson's departure left many in the Muncie community questioning Collins' leadership.
President Jo Ann Gora decided to realign the athletics department, and Collins assumed direct responsibility for five sports. Karin Lee, who was the then-associate athletics director, was given the duty of overseeing the other 13 athletic programs.
There's enough negativity connected with Collins to keep students chatting among themselves for days. Collins carries a dark and gloomy history with him, one that most certainly won't be forgotten.
Most people believe Collins was a cancer to this university. But we shouldn't bash Collins completely. He's done some good things during his time here.
When Collins first arrived at Ball State, a number of programs were horrendous, most notably, football and basketball.
From 2003-05, the football team went a combined 10-24. After Collins arrived, the team improved to 24-15 over the next three seasons.
Basketball was just as dreadful, if not worse. From 2005-07, the Cardinals owned a mark of 19-40. But from 2009-11, the team progressed to 34-28.
Collins directed the completion of the Scheumann Stadium renovation, put in place a new five-year gender equity plan and oversaw the completion and dedication of the Briner Sports Complex, which includes a brand new turf field for the women's soccer team.
There's been a multitude of success in the classroom as well.
In 2011, the women's swimming and diving team boasted the best grade-point average, 3.600, in the nation. The College Swimming Coaches Association of America honored the group as a Spring 2011 Scholar All-America Team.
In 2008-09, Ball State compiled a combined grade-point average of 3.057. The achievement landed some well-deserved recognition. Ball State was given the Institutional Academic Achievement Award, which recognizes the school with the highest men's and women's student-athlete grade-point average among the MAC schools in those sports sponsored by the conference.
So there is good to take away from Collins' time here. It may not outweigh the bad, but nonetheless, Collins has had some success, and it has improved Ball State as a school.
As a student body, it would be immature and foolish not to give Collins a fair shake when he departs from Muncie in June.
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