List of Ball State Cardinals head football coaches

The

NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision

. In nearly a century of play in college football over four affiliations (Indiana Collegiate Conference, Independent, Conference of Midwestern Universities, and the MAC), the Cardinals have had sixteen head coaches.

Key

Key to symbols in coaches list
General		Overall		Conference		Postseason^{[A 1]}
No.	Order of coaches^{[A 2]}	GC	Games coached	CW	Conference wins	PW	Postseason wins
DC	Division championships	OW	Overall wins	CL	Conference losses	PL	Postseason losses
CC	Conference championships	OL	Overall losses	CT	Conference ties	PT	Postseason ties
NC	National championships	OT	Overall ties^{[A 3]}	C%	Conference winning percentage
†	Elected to the College Football Hall of Fame	O%	Overall winning percentage^{[A 4]}

Coaches

Statistics correct as of the end of the 2023 college football season.^[4]

No.	Name	Term	GC	OW	OL	OT	O%	CW	CL	CT	C%	PW	PL	CCs	NCs	Awards
1	Paul "Billy" Williams	1924–1925	16	3	13	0	.188
2	Norman G. Wann	1926–1927	15	10	3	2	.733	—	—	—		—	—	—	—
3	Paul B. Parker	1928–1929	7	3	2	2	.571	—	—	—		—	—	—	—
4	Lawrence McPhee	1930–1934	39	15	23	1	.397	—	—	—		—	—	—	—
5	John Magnabosco	1935–1942 1944–1952	128	68	46	14	.586	35	20	6	.634	—	—	1	—
N/A	No Team	1943	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—		—	—	—	—
6	George Serdula	1953–1955	24	14	9	1	.604	8	9	0	.470	—	—	—	—	—
7	Jim Freeman	1956–1961	48	18	28	2	.396	13	22	1	.375	—	—	—	—	—
8	Ray Louthen	1962–1967	53	37	13	3	.726	26	8	2	.750	—	—	4	—	—
9	Wave Myers	1968–1970	29	15	14	0	.517	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
10	Dave McClain	1971–1977	74	46	25	3	.642	13	4	0	.764	—	—	1	—	—
11	Dwight Wallace	1978–1984	77	40	37	0	.519	30	27	0	.526	—	—	1	—	—
12	Paul Schudel	1985–1994	112	60	48	4	.554	48	33	3	.589	0	2	2	—	—
13	Bill Lynch	1995–2002	90	37	53	0	.411	30	34	0	.468	0	1	1	—	—
14	Brady Hoke	2003–2008	69	30	39	0	.435	27	20	0	.574	0	1	—	—	—
15	Stan Parrish	2008–2010	24	6	18	0	.250	5	11	0	.312	0	1	—	—	—
16	Pete Lembo	2011–2015	62	33	29	0	.532	23	17	0	.575	0	2	—	—	—
17	Mike Neu	2016–present	93	37	56	0	.398	23	39	0	.371	1	1	1	—	—

Notes

^ Although the first Rose Bowl Game was played in 1902, it has been continuously played since the 1916 game, and is recognized as the oldest bowl game by the NCAA. "—" indicates any season prior to 1916 when postseason games were not played.^[1]
^ A running total of the number of head coaches, with coaches who served separate tenures being counted only once. Interim head coaches are represented with "Int" and are not counted in the running total. "—" indicates the team played but either without a coach or no coach is on record. "X" indicates an interim year without play.
^ Overtime rules in college football were introduced in 1996, making ties impossible in the period since.^[2]
^ When computing the win–loss percentage, a tie counts as half a win and half a loss.^[3]

References

^ National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (2011). Bowl/All-Star Game Records (PDF). Indianapolis, Indiana: NCAA. pp. 5–10. Archived from the original on August 22, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
^ Whiteside, Kelly (August 25, 2006). "Overtime system still excites coaches". USA Today. McLean, Virginia. Archived from the original on November 24, 2009. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
^ Finder, Chuck (September 6, 1987). "Big plays help Paterno to 200th". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on October 22, 2009. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
^ Football Year By Year Records. ballstatesports.com.

[2] Although the first Rose Bowl Game was played in 1902, it has been continuously played since the 1916 game, and is recognized as the oldest bowl game by the NCAA. "—" indicates any season prior to 1916 when postseason games were not played.^[1]

[3] A running total of the number of head coaches, with coaches who served separate tenures being counted only once. Interim head coaches are represented with "Int" and are not counted in the running total. "—" indicates the team played but either without a coach or no coach is on record. "X" indicates an interim year without play.

[5] Overtime rules in college football were introduced in 1996, making ties impossible in the period since.^[2]

[7] When computing the win–loss percentage, a tie counts as half a win and half a loss.^[3]

[Bowls-1] National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (2011). Bowl/All-Star Game Records (PDF). Indianapolis, Indiana: NCAA. pp. 5–10. Archived from the original on August 22, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.

[Ties-4] Whiteside, Kelly (August 25, 2006). "Overtime system still excites coaches". USA Today. McLean, Virginia. Archived from the original on November 24, 2009. Retrieved September 25, 2009.

[TieCalc-6] Finder, Chuck (September 6, 1987). "Big plays help Paterno to 200th". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on October 22, 2009. Retrieved October 22, 2009.

[8] Football Year By Year Records. ballstatesports.com.

[A 1]

[A 2]

[A 3]

[A 4]

[4]

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Ball State Cardinals football
Venues	Ball State Field (1924–1967) Scheumann Stadium (1967–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Indiana State (Blue Key Victory Bell) Northern Illinois (Bronze Stalk Trophy)
Culture & lore	Charlie Cardinal The Pride of Mid-America Marching Band
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

v t e Head football coaches of the Mid-American Conference
East Division	Joe Moorhead (Akron) Bowling Green ) Buffalo ) Kent State ) Chuck Martin (Miami) Ohio )
West Division	Mike Neu (Ball State) Central Michigan ) Chris Creighton (Eastern Michigan) Northern Illinois ) Jason Candle (Toledo) Lance Taylor (Western Michigan)