After a disappointing 3-7 start to the 2024 season, Ball State football fans read a jarring words: “Fired Midseason.” Head coach Mike Neu was out after nine seasons.
Looking to revitalize their football program, Ball State hired head coach Mike Uremovich, better known as “Coach U,” after the 2024 season was finished. The future of football at Ball State seems to be in good hands, as Uremovich led Indianapolis’ Butler University to three consecutive winning seasons before arriving in Muncie.
With the buzz of the new coach, college football fans are asking, “What is he doing differently than previous coaches to change the team’s outcome?”
Athletes such as tight end Kam Anthony saw changes almost immediately after Uremovich walked in the door.
“Coach U kind of set the tone from the very beginning,” Anthony said. “When he came in the winter, he was like, ‘We have one goal. Our goal is to win the MAC Championship, and that’s what we’re going to do. If you’re not about it, then you’re not going to play. ’”
Keeping a common goal set by a strong leader in mind helped the players work as a more unified team and know each other on a more personal level.
“I feel like everybody’s a little more bought in, ” Anthony said, “a little more kind of closer, just as friends, getting to know each other, and I feel like that’s kind of helped us.”
The offseason has been very heavy on the players’ physical preparations, but also on adjusting their mentality.
“We’ve been doing a lot of meetings, and mainly the summer is conditioning and lifting, just really preparing your body,” Anthony said. “We call it ‘building the armor, ’ just getting your body prepped and ready to go through a 16-game season. ”
Body composition isn’t the only focus of the team, as mindset cultivation plays a large role in getting ready for the season. As a player, the offseason is a lot of memorizing where you need to be during a play is a large part of laying the groundwork for a successful season.
“On the mental side of stuff, we’ll do things called ‘formation drill,’ where the offensive defense will walk through,” Anthony said, “just making sure that mentally we’re in the right space leading up to camp in the fall.”
Mentally getting ready for the season also means looking at the schedule and knowing your opponent inside and out. There are a few rivalry games, such as Miami University and Northern Illinois University, circled on the calendar for the 2025 season. While fans have more anticipation for these games, the players don’t treat them differently from any other game.
“I see rivalry games are just another game,” Anthony said. “It is bigger than that, you are playing for a trophy, but at the same time, it is just another game.”
With Uremovich’s history of creating winning records at Butler, the team and fans hope to have a winning season after a 3-9 record in the 2024 season.
“Our coach said, ‘Know the plays so much that you can’t get it wrong, not just until you know it, but you can’t get it wrong,’” Anthony said.
Uremovich emphasizes consistency, and fans are hopeful it will translate into victories.