Sport Football Meetings total 65 | Trophy Blue Key Victory Bell | |
 | ||
First meeting October 18, 1924
Indiana State 47, Ball State 0 Latest meeting September 13, 2014
Indiana State 27, Ball State 20 All-time series Ball State leads, 39–24–1 | ||
The Blue Key Victory Bell is presented to the winner of the college football game between Ball State University and Indiana State University. The two schools met regularly between 1924 and 1991 but sporadically since that season. They have competed for the Victory Bell since 1940; from 1924–1947 they were Indiana Intercollegiate Conference rivals and from 1951–1967, they were Indiana Collegiate Conference rivals.
Contents
In addition, Ball State "University" was a regional campus of The Indiana State University from 1918–1961; beginning in the 1961–62 academic year, Ball State has operated independently.
History
Early in the series, games would be played either at Terre Haute, Indiana (hosted by Indiana State) or Muncie, Indiana (hosted by Ball State). The first two games between the schools took place at Terre Haute in 1924 and 1925; then the series between the schools continued on a near home-and-home basis from 1931 to 1983. From 1984 to 1989, the games were played at a neutral site, Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis; during this era, Indiana State moved down to Division I-AA (now Division I FCS) while Ball State remained Division I-A (now Division I FBS). The last home-and-home cycle for this game was in 1990 and 1991. Since 2002, all games in this series have been played in Muncie. The Victory Bell continues to be the official game trophy, even though the Ball State/Indiana state series has become less frequent since the 1990s.
In 1940, the Blue Key chapters at both Ball State and Indiana State agreed to donate a bell to the winner of the football game between their two schools.
On September 13, 2014, Indiana State beat Ball State for their first win over Ball State since 1987. As of 2014, this is the final scheduled game between the two schools.
Game results
Winning team is shown in a bold font. Ball State victories are in red. Indiana State victories are in blue.