When Bill Scholl was hired as Ball State athletic director a year ago, it ushered in a new era of interaction between students and coaches.
But the level of interaction was never more obvious as Wednesday afternoon, as recently-announced men’s basketball coach James Whitford made his way to the Atrium after his introductory press conference to talk to Ball State students.
He began with a statement asking for fan support and making a pitch to boost college attendance, then opened up for questions from the crowd.
Only one person from the crowd was brave enough to yell one out, as graduate student Marcus Watts stepped forward and shouted, “Are we going to the tournament?
The group of students applauded and cheered at his confidence.
Whitford’s answer exuded just as much confidence.
“That’s why we came here,“ Whitford said. “We’re here to compete for championships and to go to the tournament. I’ve coached against Ball State and I’ve been on the wrong end of some of of those Bonzi Wells days. I look forward to getting back to that era.“
Whitford said the introduction to students was the administration’s idea, but he jumped on board immediately.
“It was a great idea,“ Whitford said. “One of the things we talked about in the search was ways to get the fans involved. I expressed to them that I’m willing to do any and all things they ask me to do because one of my jobs as a head coach is to generate interest and fan support.“
After Watts’ question, students formed a line to meet Whitford and have a brief conversation.
Watts was excited to see a new coach have interaction with the Ball State community.
“I think the coach needs to be introduced to everybody on campus,” Watts said. “That way everybody knows who he is and what he’s about.“
Whitford was introduced to members of the band playing the Ball State fight song.
Watts is excited for the new culture of basketball at Ball State.
“When a new coach comes to a school, you have to have a change of atmosphere,“ Watts, who is studying exercise science, said. “We want him to bring [the winning] culture here. We want that hard work, we want that effort.“
Tim Stavros, a sophomore sports administration major, wants even more interaction between students and members of Ball State athletics.
“I’ve been here two years and I haven’t really seen this in the time that I’ve been here,“ Stavros said. “I think the students need it. I think [coaches] need it as well. That’s what I told the coach. It goes both ways. The more he comes out, the more people he’s going to bring in.“
