Main campus looking southward on McKinley Avenue with the Art & Journalism building in the background Ball State's main campus spans and includes 109 buildings at centered mostly on three main quadrangles. The university also manages just over of research property. The main campus is situated about northwest of downtown Muncie. McKinley Ave. is a two-lane, primary north–south street through the Ball State campus. Streetscape features include landscaped medians, granite curbing, limestone bollards and planters, bus turn-outs, and brick crosswalks. A
pedestrian scramble is located at the intersection of Riverside and McKinley avenues. Old Quad, the university's historic
quadrangle, anchors the south end of Ball State's campus. Distinctive features include its mature tree canopy and
Collegiate Gothic architecture. It is bounded by McKinley Ave. (east), University Ave. (south),
Christy Woods (west), and Riverside Ave. (north). The residential
Westwood Historic District is situated immediately across Riverside Ave. to the north. Old Quad landmarks include
Beneficence and the Fine Arts Building, home to the
David Owsley Museum of Art. The museum contains some 11,000 works valued at more than $40 million. The Fine Arts Terrace, overlooking the Old Quad, hosts the annual spring commencement ceremonies. Ball State's central campus area first began to develop in the 1960s. It is generally bounded by New York Ave. (east), Riverside Ave. (south), the Westwood Historic District (west), and Neely Ave./Petty Rd. (north). Distinctive features include its mix of academic buildings, residential and dining halls, and performing arts venues. Notable landmarks include
Bracken Library,
Emens Auditorium, and the
Frog Baby Fountain on University Green. Located in the median of McKinley Ave.,
Shafer Tower is a free-standing
bell tower with a 48-bell
carillon. East Quad, the newest quadrangle, sits east of the Old Quad and south of the central campus. It is bounded by Dicks St. (east), Ashland Ave. (south), McKinley Ave. (west), and Riverside Ave. (north). East Quad is situated immediately north of The Village commercial district. The North Residential Neighborhood was completed in 2022 and comprises Botsford/Swinford Halls, Jack Beyerl Hall, North Dining Hall, North West Hall, and Schmidt/Wilson Halls.
York Prairie Creek, also known as Cardinal Creek, is an intra-campus creek that begins at the pond outside Park Hall, winding northwest and connecting to the Duck Pond before heading west toward the
White River. The campus includes nearly 8,000 trees of about 625 species.
Campus transportation Ball State provides a free shuttle service each semester. Shuttles buses run on green and blue loops every eight to ten minutes. The university also provides a late-night pickup service, Charlie's Charter. Upon request, Charlie's Charter will transport students throughout the campus.
Muncie Indiana Transit System (MITS) also provides local fixed-route bus service free to students. Routes 1, 2, 14, and 16 run through campus.
Athletic facilities Most of Ball State University's athletic facilities and intramural fields are located on the northernmost portion of campus near the intersection of McGalliard Rd. and Tillotson Ave. Facilities include First Merchants Ballpark Complex (
Ball Diamond and Softball Field), Briner Sports Complex, the Earl Yestingsmeier Golf Practice Facility, the Fisher Football Training Complex, the Scheumann Family Indoor Practice Facility, and the 22,500-seat
Scheumann Stadium, home to
Ball State Cardinals football. The 11,500-seat
John E. Worthen Arena anchors the central campus athletic facilities. There are also tennis courts on campus.
Architecture Ball State University's campus buildings exhibit a blending of architectural styles that generally reflect the time period in which they were designed. With few exceptions, most façades feature variations of red or brown brick and
limestone. Completed in 1899, the
Neoclassical-style Frank A. Bracken Administration Building is the oldest extant building on the campus. It is distinctive for its yellow brick exterior.
Collegiate Gothic-style architecture is reflected in the university's oldest buildings, including Ball Gymnasium (1925),
Burris Laboratory School (1929), the
Fine Arts Building (1936), and Elliott Hall (1937). and Robert Bell Building (1984). The Teachers College Building is the tallest building on campus, at 10 floors and . Beginning in the 1990s, new construction, building additions, and renovations were built to respect the scale and massing of the university's older Collegiate Gothic-style buildings. While red brick with limestone accents have remained the favored façade materials, large windows have become more commonplace to emphasize natural lighting. Examples include the Alumni Center by
Pei Cobb Freed & Partners (1997), the Art and Journalism Building (2001), the Music Instruction Building (2004), the David Letterman Communication and Media Building (2007), Park Hall (2007), DeHority Complex (renovated in 2009), Jo Ann Gora Student Recreation and Wellness Center, and Kinghorn Hall (both completed in 2010). Recent buildings (mid-2010s to present) have embraced contemporary architecture featuring open atriums, large windows, and sustainable design elements. Examples include Botsford/Swinford Halls (renovated in 2015), Schmidt/Wilson Halls (renovated in 2017), the Health Professions Building (completed in 2019), Jack Beyerl Hall, North Dining Hall (both completed in 2020), the Foundational Sciences Building, and North West Hall (both completed in 2021).
Sustainability Ball State has adopted
environmental sustainability as a primary component of the university's strategic plan and vision. and also invests in
hybrid vehicles, hybrid-electric shuttle buses, and vehicles that use
E85. Since 2007, 13 campus buildings have achieved LEED certification. The Marilyn K. Glick Center for Glass and Teachers College Building is considered LEED certified. The David Letterman Communication and Media Building, Park Hall, DeHority Hall, Kinghorn Hall, and the Jo Ann Gora Student Recreation and Wellness Center have earned LEED Silver certification. Studebaker East Residence Hall, District Energy Station North, Applied Technology Building, Botsford/Swinford Residence Hall, Schmidt/Wilson Residence Hall, and District Energy Station South have earned LEED Gold certification. The university's first
green roof was installed on the North District Energy Station in 2011. Former president
Jo Ann Gora was a founding member of the
American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment, an initiative by several institutions to address
climate change and reduce
greenhouse gas emissions on their campuses. In 2011, the
Sustainable Endowments Institute gave the university a College Sustainability Report Card grade of "C+."
Geothermal system In 2009, then-president
Jo Ann Gora announced the university's plans for installing the largest
geothermal energy project of its kind in the U.S. Ball State committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 80,000 tons annually through the installation of a $65 million geothermal heating and cooling system and closure of all four coal-fired boilers on campus. The geothermal system, completed in 2017, consists of 3,600
boreholes and two energy stations on campus. The system consists of two underground loops with more than of pipes to circulate water for heating and cooling throughout campus.
Satellite facilities Ball State University manages two satellite facilities in the state of Indiana: CAP: INDY and the Fishers Center for Academic and Economic Innovation. Since 2001, the
Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning has operated a satellite facility in
Indianapolis. Known as CAP: INDY, it houses the Center for Civic Design and provides interdisciplinary studio space for graduate students in the college's
master of architecture and master of urban design programs. In 2019, the center moved to the Elevator Hill section of the city's Holy Cross neighborhood near
downtown Indianapolis. CAP: INDY occupies of the Glass Building at 25 N. Pine St. The Fishers Center for Academic and Economic Innovation, located in
Fishers, Indiana, was established in 2015. The center occupies at Launch Fishers, a
co-working/
business incubator. The site offers academic programs, community engagement, and professional development sessions to students, alumni, and organizations. During the spring semester, entrepreneurship student teams are paired with six Launch Fishers companies to develop growth strategies for each company. ==Academics==