Bill Scholl is surprised at how often he gets recognized while walking down McKinley Avenue.
After all, he’s not Pete Lembo, nor the newly hired James Whitford or even Rich Maloney. He’s just the athletic director.
But in one year as Ball State’s athletic director, Scholl hasn’t just added coaches or assistants; he’s changed the culture of the entire athletic department.
It’s early, but all four of Scholl’s four head coaching hires have brought success to their respective programs. He was part of the group to help bring new athletic facilities to Ball State.
Attendance has increased, partly due to the student rewards program that began in 2012.
“One thing that really sticks out about Bill is his ability to quickly change the culture that was in our department,” first-year women’s basketball coach Brady Sallee said. “With the last regime and as things were transitioning from one AD to the next, there were a lot of people who had been beaten down a little bit. The culture around the department was kind of ho-hum. There wasn’t a ton of excitement when walking up and down the halls. That was the first thing I noticed from when I first came in the door to where we are now.”
The Coaches
Before Scholl was hired, the Ball State baseball team was in the middle of a season that would end at 14-36, its third straight finish with a record of .500 or below.
The women’s basketball team had just finished its second straight 9-21 season, and hadn’t had anything memorable happen since defeating Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament in the 2008-09 season.
Both teams were rudderless at the time of Scholl’s hire in mid-April. Improving both teams was a primary concern immediately.
Head women’s basketball coach Brady Sallee’s first season at Ball State was unquestionably a success.
Ball State earned the second seed in the Mid-American Conference Tournament, and made it to the Sweet 16 of the WNIT.
When his team was 3-10 and on the cusp of yet another disappointing season, Sallee didn’t ever feel pressured by Scholl.
“He was there in the good and the bad, and the first one to pat me on the back and say ‘Brady, we see what you’re doing. We see how it’s coming together, and it’s not showing up in wins yet, but keep believing. We’re believing.’ He was a great ambassador for me and the program,” Sallee said.
Sallee’s success helped snowball into more attention for the men’s basketball coaching position.
“I think the attention that the women’s program got definitely helped pique some interest in the job,” Scholl said. “Was it make or break? I don’t think so. But were they aware of it? Absolutely.”
The Job
Scholl had spent his last 23 years in the athletic department of Notre Dame, a “bigger school.”
“I hate to use the phrase ‘down a level,’” Scholl said of the adjustment he’s had to go through. “It’s a different level. That’s for sure. The size of the school is actually bigger, since this is a state school. That probably was as big of an adjustment as any. My whole career had been at the private school level. Moving to a public institution was certainly an adjustment.”
Scholl said at the core of any athletic department, it’s still student-athletes who are trying to “be as good as they can be.”
Right now, the most difficult part of Scholl’s job is collecting resources. He will have another fundraising project on his hands after the announcement of the new athletic facilities.
Ball State is has already raised more than $12 million of the $20 million goal.
“I wake up every day with 100 ideas of how we could be better, but you don’t get there without spending money,” he said.
His opinion of attendance may differ from other people in athletics, but he is adamant about it.
“First of all, we have to get the product right,” Scholl said. “Nobody owes it to our teams to come watch them play. When people say ‘Oh, you owe it to watch,’ I don’t buy that. We owe it to them to put product on the floor that’s worth watching.”
With other MAC coaches such as Kent State’s Darrell Hazell leaving for Purdue, and Northern Illinois’ Dave Doeren leaving for North Carolina State, there’s a constant threat of Ball State coaches leaving for greener pastures after one or two successful years at Ball State.
One Ball State coach who could move to a more prestigious opportunity is Ball State football coach Pete Lembo. Other schools had rumored interest in Lembo after 2012’s successful season, and it looks to continue if the football team continues to perform well.
“Successful coaches at any level are going to have opportunities,” Scholl said. “Even at the highest level of college athletics, those guys are getting NFL opportunities. That’s a fact of life that we live with within our business. It’s a good thing in my mind. It’s a good thing that people are coming after Ball State coaches. That means we have good coaches who’ve had success. I have zero problems with that.”
Scholl’s key is that coaches don’t decide to come to Ball State for the sole purpose of having a good couple of years before moving on.
Outside Perspectives
Lembo first met Scholl on the morning of the spring game in 2012.
“He’s extremely easy to talk to,” Lembo said. “He sees the big picture. He relates very well to different people. He cares about student-athletes.”
After baseball coach Rich Maloney wasn’t retained as coach of Michigan, he was being recruited by Ohio to be its coach.
Scholl reached out to Maloney and asked if he could drive to Michigan to meet him.
“It said a lot about Bill Scholl in that he went very aggressively after me,” Maloney said. “It meant a lot to me personally and my family. It said a lot about him. He’s a go-getter.”
Maloney interviewed with Ohio over the course of a weekend, but Scholl interviewed him the following Monday at Ball State.
One of Scholl’s fellow MAC athletic directors, Miami’s David Sayler, had glowing reviews of Scholl when meeting him at the conference meetings.
“He’s done a great job,” Sayler said. “I’ve certainly leaned on him for a couple of things on just getting settled into a new job with the conference.”
Sayler is tasked with a similar job as Scholl one year ago — change the culture within the department.
“I’ve certainly noticed what they’ve been doing, I saw the release last week about the fundraising initiative for athletics,” Sayler said. “Those things don’t happen unless people have confidence in the direction you’re going. Clearly he’s been able to establish a culture and calm some nerves down and get people positive and get people focused on a direction.”
None of the three major Ball State coaches — Lembo, Sallee nor Maloney could find a time when they’ve found a struggle to work with Scholl.
“He’s let me do my thing,” Maloney said. “I’m going to do my best, just like the other coaches to build him a program of integrity and a championship program.”
After a full year on the job, Scholl accomplishments have overshadowed his difficulties.
“It has been all kinds of things,” Scholl said of his past year. “It’s been eye-opening, it’s been exhilarating, but it’s been enjoyable.”
