Ball State University's athletic teams are called the Cardinals. The Cardinals are part of the NCAAMid-American Conference. Charlie Cardinal is the team mascot and the history of the first Cardinal team dates back to 1926. Ball State University is a state-run university located in Muncie, Indiana. ... The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA, often said NC-Double-A) is a voluntary association of about 1200 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletics programs of many colleges and universities in the United States. ... The Mid-American Conference is a College Athletic Conference whose members are located mainly in the Midwestern United States; nine of the schools are in Ohio and Michigan alone. ... 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...