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The Michael Lewis era of Ball State basketball is over.
Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68 first reported on Saturday, March 7, that Lewis has been fired by Ball State after four seasons leading the Cardinals' program. The move was confirmed to The Star Press in a statement released by Ball State University.
"We are grateful to Coach Lewis for the passion and commitment he brought to our program the past four years," Ball State athletic director Jeff Mitchell said via the statement. "We appreciate the time and effort he invested in our student-athletes."
Per the statement, a national search for the next Ball State basketball coach will begin immediately.
Lewis went 61-64 in four seasons at Ball State. The Cardinals finished the 2025-26 season with a record of 12-19 and 7-11 in Mid-American Conference play. Ball State failed to qualify for the MAC Tournament for the third season in a row.
The 20th coach in Ball State men's basketball history, Lewis joined the Cardinals after three seasons at an assistant coach for UCLA, where he helped coach the Bruins to a Final Four. He has also been an assistant coach at Nebraska, Butler, Eastern Illinois and Stephen F. Austin. He began his career as a graduate assistant at Texas Tech.
Lewis is a former Indiana high school Gatorade Player of the Year who enjoyed a standout playing career at Jasper High School before going on to play four seasons for Bobby Knight at Indiana.
Ball State went 20-12 in Lewis' first season in 2022-23 — its first 20-win season in six years — but regressed each year afterwards. The Cardinals went 15-16 in 2023-24 and 14-17 in 2024-25. Ball State finished the 2025-26 season on a four-game winning streak but ninth place in the MAC, just missing out on the conference tournament.
Contact Cade Hampton via email at [email protected] or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @CadeHamp10.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Ball State fires Michael Lewis after 61-64 record in four seasons
Continue reading...
Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68 first reported on Saturday, March 7, that Lewis has been fired by Ball State after four seasons leading the Cardinals' program. The move was confirmed to The Star Press in a statement released by Ball State University.
"We are grateful to Coach Lewis for the passion and commitment he brought to our program the past four years," Ball State athletic director Jeff Mitchell said via the statement. "We appreciate the time and effort he invested in our student-athletes."
Per the statement, a national search for the next Ball State basketball coach will begin immediately.
Lewis went 61-64 in four seasons at Ball State. The Cardinals finished the 2025-26 season with a record of 12-19 and 7-11 in Mid-American Conference play. Ball State failed to qualify for the MAC Tournament for the third season in a row.
The 20th coach in Ball State men's basketball history, Lewis joined the Cardinals after three seasons at an assistant coach for UCLA, where he helped coach the Bruins to a Final Four. He has also been an assistant coach at Nebraska, Butler, Eastern Illinois and Stephen F. Austin. He began his career as a graduate assistant at Texas Tech.
Lewis is a former Indiana high school Gatorade Player of the Year who enjoyed a standout playing career at Jasper High School before going on to play four seasons for Bobby Knight at Indiana.
Ball State went 20-12 in Lewis' first season in 2022-23 — its first 20-win season in six years — but regressed each year afterwards. The Cardinals went 15-16 in 2023-24 and 14-17 in 2024-25. Ball State finished the 2025-26 season on a four-game winning streak but ninth place in the MAC, just missing out on the conference tournament.
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Contact Cade Hampton via email at [email protected] or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @CadeHamp10.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Ball State fires Michael Lewis after 61-64 record in four seasons
Continue reading...
