Ball State tops THG’s list of Indiana sports schools
By Kent Kelley, THG Sports
When most sports fans in and outside of the Hoosier State argue about which of
our colleges or universities has the best overall sports program, they usually
think of Indiana and Purdue (I would include Notre Dame, but the average fan
doesn’t associate the Irish with our state—it is more like a national
institution to all of the subway alumni out there who support them). Many times
the other colleges in Indiana, big and small, are forgotten.
To decide which college’s overall sport program is actually the best in the
state, the staff at THG was asked to put together, in order, their list of top
sports schools. There were several factors considered when compiling our lists:
wins and losses, campus atmosphere, prestige, fan support, conference,
cheerleaders, etc. A strong football team was a must to be considered for top
honors—we at THG really could give a hoot in hell about any other sport, but we
did take men’s basketball into consideration since it is the only other one that
makes any money.
The composite results of our survey will probably surprise most of our
readers—the following ranks the top ten college sports programs in Indiana and
why they earned said ranking:
1. Ball State University Cardinals
BSU is in an exciting conference with a great name (The MAC) and is fairly
successful in most sports. What puts Ball U. on top of other Indiana schools is
the party atmosphere on campus and relatively low expectations—no one (except
diehard alumni) is going to be too upset if the Cardinals have a bad season—this
makes BSU a great place to play and coach due to a lack of pressure. Their
basketball team is competitive just about every year and their football program
is getting better all the time—Tom Lemming ranked their 2004 recruiting class
the best in the conference. Put that together with being in one of Indiana’s
most picturesque towns and you have to ask yourself: Why would anyone not want
to go to Ball State?
2. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
It doesn’t matter if ND lost every game in every other sport and has a .500
season in football—they are the premier team with the most prestige of any
college or university in the state. They have the most loyal fans, one of the
nicest campuses, and play top competition almost every week. The thing that
keeps Notre Dame from being #1 on our list is the crappy city (South Bend) and a
low number of slutty co-eds that really know how to get their party on.
3. Hanover Panthers
This Division III powerhouse is excellent in just about every sport. The
football team is usually highly ranked, and the campus might be the nicest in
the Midwest. Add to that a few heaping helpings of freaky sorority girls (almost
every girl in school is in one), and you have yourself a fine recipe for campus
fun!
4. Purdue Boilermakers
Solid in football and basketball while participating in a tough conference,
Purdue has two great coaches in Gene Keady and Joe Tiller. The campus is kind of
boring and there are too many tech geeks or the Boilermakers would be ranked
higher. And what is the deal with that big-assed drum?
5. Wabash Little Giants
Another D-III football powerhouse. Nice campus and tough sports programs. We all
liked the fact that they do not have any sucky women’s programs—this is an all
boys’ school so they don’t have to abide by the token women’s equity rules that
most of the others do. Our main dislikes: those gay-looking male cheerleaders in
their jailbird outfits—this dropped them considerably in the rankings—and weird
nickname that doesn’t make a lick of sense.
6. Indiana Hoosiers
Ranked this low for their poor showing in football since Bill Mallory left, and
for underachieving in basketball under Mike Davis. The only reason they are this
high is because they are in the Big Ten (Eleven), and they have countless fans
who still are brainwashed into rooting for them no matter what. Oh yeah, and if
you can’t get laid by one of the dirty co-eds there, you might as well kill
yourself.
7. Depauw Tigers
None of us knew much about this school, other than it is in a crappy part of the
state in a crappy town (Greencastle). We ranked the Tigers this low because the
one alum we know personally is a major ass-clown with a white-trash girlfriend.
Sorry Depauw.
8. Indiana State Sycamores
Every state has one city known for its horrendous stench, and ISU is located in
Indiana’s stinkiest town, Terre Haute. Their facilities are terrible, they never
sign any good out of state athletes, and the townies are about as white trash as
they come. If it wasn’t for Larry Legend, no one would have ever heard of this
hole.
9. Indianapolis Greyhounds
Has anyone out there actually ever attended a U. of Indy football game? They
have the plainest campus in the world—Soviet engineers would have looked down on
it for its lack of pizzazz. It doesn’t help that they are the only Division II
football school in the state—so they never play anyone any other Indianans would
want to see. Oh yeah, they are a private school. Anyone who would shell out big
bucks to go there has got to be absolutely retarded.
