MUNCIE, Ind. (AP) — Ball State announced Saturday it has fired coach Michael Lewis after four seasons and will begin searching immediately for his successor.
Lewis had a promising start to his career, going 20-12 in 2022-23 but won fewer games each of his final three seasons, culminating in a career worst 12-19 mark this season. The Cardinals won their final four games but it was not good enough to propel Ball State into the Mid-American Conference Tournament — or to save Lewis’ job.
“We are grateful to coach Lewis for the passion and commitment he brought to our program the past four years,” athletic director Jeff Mitchell said in a statement. “We appreciate the time and effort he invested in our student-athletes.”
But after that 20-win season, Ball State won 15, 14 and 12 games over the next three seasons as Lewis went 61-64 in his first head coaching job.
The 48-year-old Lewis is a native of Jasper, Indiana, who played all four college seasons at Indiana University under coach Bob Knight. He played on Knight’s final Hoosiers team in 1999–2000 and finished his career at the school’s all-time leader in assists with 545. He still ranks second all-time.
Before taking the Ball State job, Lewis had served as an assistant coach at Stephen F. Austin, Eastern Illinois, Butler, Nebraska and UCLA and as a graduate assistant under Knight at Texas Tech from 2002-04.
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