One of Ball State’s favorite sons was back on campus Feb. 9, announcing the partnership of two of his favorite things: IndyCar racing and Ball State University.
Along with Daleville Community Schools, Ball State announced a strategic esports partnership with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) Feb. 9 during a launch event and virtual race within the Ball State Esports Center.
A key component of the partnership will be a $5,000 annual scholarship given to two members of the Cardinal Varsity Esports team extending each year through the 2025-26 school year.
“The biggest thing is providing both current and future students opportunities,” Varsity Esports head coach Dan Marino said. “One of the things I hit on is that, oftentimes, we’ve grappled with the legitimacy of esports – there are a lot of naysayers even, still. Being able to have an organization like RLL behind us saying, ‘No, we’re looking for students involved in esports and video games’... helps to legitimize what we’re doing here in our program.”
Paaige Turner, dean of the College of Communication, Information, and Media, detailed highlights of the partnership.
“The future is unlimited,” Turner said. “This is just one aspect of connection that we’re working on with the industry. We’re very thrilled … We’re also working with some other industry partners, and I look forward to sharing their names and the projects we’re going to have with them in the near future.”
The scholarship will allow Ball State Esports to market itself to students across the country, she said.
Freshman Hailey Hicks stumbled upon the opportunity to play video games in college, much like she stumbled upon the Esports Center during the fall 2021 semester.
“[It’s] absolutely mind-blowing in my opinion,” Hicks said. “Literally getting paid to go somewhere and play video games is absolutely shocking. Never once did I ever think that would be an opportunity.”
RLL racers Jack Harvey and Christian Lundgaard attended and tested the Esports Center’s simulated racing system before competing in the IndyCar-Motorsport Games Pro Challenge.
David Letterman, an owner of RLL and 1969 Ball State alumnus, expressed feelings of gratitude for the pioneering program and the university as a whole.
“To have the two of these organizations meet together, in what I fully believe is pioneering a new world, a new culture, a new way of life for not only sports, but any other endeavor,” Letterman said, “I am so pleased, so delighted and so proud of this association and by God, we’ll do whatever we can to make you proud.”
The program will immediately begin accepting applications for the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Scholarship and will continue to accept applications until its March 15 priority deadline.
Contact Daniel Kehn with comments at daniel.kehn@bsu.edu or on Twitter @daniel_kehn.
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