Neu, a Ball State alum, went 40-63 in nine years, with one MAC football title in 2020.
After nine seasons leading his alma mater, Ball State head coach Mike Neu has been removed as head coach of the Cardinals, effective immediately.
“Coach Neu has poured his heart into the Ball State football program,” Ball State athletics director Jeff Mitchell said via press statement this morning. “I commend him for his professionalism and the positive team culture he has constructed. His efforts have greatly impacted the lives of hundreds of young men. He has represented the Ball State brand with integrity and class, and I wish him well in future pursuits.”
Ball State made the decision to pull the plug early, firing Neu with one season remaining on an extension signed in 2021.
Neu was initially hired in 2016 following former head coach Pete Lembo’s resignation to take the special teams coordinator position at Maryland. Lembo, who was 33–29 overall (23–17 MAC) in five seasons, was the second BSU coach to leave Muncie with a winning record since Paul Schudel, who went 60-48-4 in 10 seasons from 1985-1994.
(Coincidentally, it was Pete Lembo who put the nail in Neu’s coffin, as his first-year Buffalo Bulls took home a 51-48 overtime win over the Cardinals earlier this week.)
Neu was a former Cardinal football player who made the jump back to Muncie after two seasons as quarterbacks coach with the New Orleans Saints. As a player, Neu led the Cardinals to a MAC championship in 1993, and left with program records in passing yards (6,271), most passes attempted (970) and most passes completed (580) and touchdown passes thrown (43.)
Neu initially struggled out of the gate, with 15 wins over his first four seasons, but 2020 proved to be a turning point, as the Cardinals went 5-1 in league play, won the MAC Championship over Buffalo and finished the season with a peak ranking of 23rd in the Associated Press poll after winning the Arizona Bowl. The MAC title was Ball State’s first since Neu led them to one as a quarterback in 1993.
Neu was never able to re-find that magic, however, with the team going 6-7 with a loss in the Camellia Bowl in their title defense season in 2021, then never winning more than five games after that.
Neu’s Ball State teams have graduated several pros, with Caleb Huntley (Atlanta), Danny Pinter (Indianapolis) and Nic Jones (Kansas City) all in the NFL as of publication. Justin Hall, Walter Fletcher, Antonio Phillips and Jonathan Newsome are notable Neu Cardinals to become professionals in other gridiron leagues.
Offensive line coach Colin Johnson, a former starting center and team captain for Ball State (1999-2002), has been named interim coach for the remaining two games in the season.
A national search for a new coach will begin effective immediately.
As this is a developing story, this article will be updated periodically.