Ohio is fresh off its most important Mid-American Conference victory of the year — a 45-38 win over East Division rival Kent State.
The win propelled the Bobcats from third in the MAC East to a three-way tie for first place with Kent and Miami.
Ohio will press pause on its division games this week as it prepares for MAC West Division leader Ball State. And with a West Division game comes another edition of five fun facts.
Plenty of jars
Ball State University, located in Muncie, Indiana, was founded in 1918 by brothers Lucius, William, Edmund, Frank and George Ball.
The Ball family is best known for the mass production of the Mason Jar, and the “Ball Perfect Mason Jar” is one of the most popular versions of the widely coveted container.
Something out there
Ball State is home to Indiana’s largest planetarium. The Charles W. Brown Planetarium is located on the Cardinals campus and is home to several astrology classes. Students and the general public have the opportunity to attend various programs and see out into the sky during special parts of the year. According to bsu.web, the planetarium has over 20,000 visitors per year.
Tonight, bring out the lasagna
Every school has its famous alumni, but Ball State has certain bragging rights in the entertainment industry. The longtime host of “The Late Show” David Letterman is an alumnus of Ball State. Letterman graduated in 1969 and nearly 40 years later, with his donation, the David Letterman Communication and Media Building opened its doors.
Other famous alumni from Ball State is cartoonist Jim Davis. Davis is best known for his creation of the lovable, fat, lasagna-eating, orange cat Garfield.
A different kind of hero
A unique tradition at Ball State is the superhero Happy Friday Guy.
What started off as a bet between two students in the early 2000s, Happy Friday Guy is an anonymous student who wears a morph suit and rides around campus on a Razor scooter shouting happy Friday and other positive messages to whatever students are nearby.
Indiana is the racing capital, not just for auto
The Friday before Homecoming at Ball State, students put on the annual bed race where they do just that — race beds.
The tradition started in 1980 and it consists of a team of five students who all wear funny outfits and race against another team for 100 yards. Four people push the bed while one rides on it.
The team that has the best score and the best costume wins a trophy.
