Blue Key Victory Bell

The Blue Key Victory Bell is presented to the winner of the college football game between Indiana State University and Ball State University.^{[1][2][3][4][5]} 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 to 1947 they were Indiana Intercollegiate Conference rivals and from 1951 to 1967 they were Indiana Collegiate Conference rivals. Ball State was a regional campus of Indiana State University from 1918 to 1961; since the 1961–62 academic year, Ball State has operated independently.

Blue Key Victory Bell

Indiana State Sycamores Ball State Cardinals
Sport	Football
First meeting	October 18, 1924 Indiana State, 47–0
Latest meeting	September 16, 2023 Ball State, 45–7
Next meeting	September 9, 2028
Trophy	Victory Bell
Statistics
Meetings total	66
All-time series	Ball State leads, 40–24–1
Largest victory	Indiana State, 47–0 (1924)
Longest win streak	Ball State, 6 (1988–2003)
Current win streak	Ball State, 1 (2023–present)
Ball State Indiana State

75km
50miles

Indiana State

Ball State

  

Locations of Ball State and Indiana State

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 Indiana State and Ball State agreed to donate a bell to the winner of the football game between their two schools.^[6]

On September 13, 2014, Indiana State beat Ball State for their first win over Ball State since 1987.^[7] The most recent game in the series occurred on September 16, 2023, in which Ball State defeated Indiana State by a score of 45–7.^[8]

Game results

Ball State victories

Indiana State victories

Tie games

No. Date Location Winner Score 1 October 18, 1924 Terre Haute Indiana State 47–0 2 November 6, 1925 Terre Haute Indiana State 20–7 3 November 6, 1931 Terre Haute Indiana State 13–7 4 November 12, 1932 Muncie Ball State 12–0 5 November 4, 1933 Terre Haute Indiana State 9–6 6 November 10, 1934 Muncie Ball State 15–6 7 November 2, 1935 Terre Haute Indiana State 12–6 8 October 17, 1936 Muncie Indiana State 3–0 9 November 6, 1937 Terre Haute Ball State 7–0 10 October 8, 1938 Muncie Ball State 13–9 11 October 21, 1939 Terre Haute Ball State 28–7 12 November 16, 1940 Muncie Indiana State 27–7 13 November 15, 1941 Terre Haute Ball State 7–0 14 November 14, 1942 Muncie Ball State 7–0 15 November 16, 1946 Terre Haute Indiana State 3–0 16 November 15, 1947 Muncie Ball State 14–10 17 November 13, 1948 Terre Haute Ball State 10–7 18 November 12, 1949 Muncie Ball State 34–6 19 November 11, 1950 Muncie Ball State 32–0 20 October 20, 1951 Muncie Tie 0–0 21 October 18, 1952 Terre Haute Ball State 33–0 22 October 17, 1953 Muncie Ball State 33–6 23 October 16, 1954 Terre Haute Indiana State 14–13 24 October 15, 1955 Muncie Ball State 19–6 25 October 20, 1956 Terre Haute Ball State 26–14 26 November 9, 1957 Terre Haute Ball State 20–0 27 November 8, 1958 Muncie Ball State 26–8 28 November 7, 1959 Terre Haute Indiana State 29–8 29 November 5, 1960 Muncie Indiana State 26–23 30 October 21, 1961 Muncie Indiana State 4–0 31 October 20, 1962 Terre Haute Indiana State 22–0 32 October 19, 1963 Muncie Ball State 15–7 33 October 17, 1964 Terre Haute Indiana State 17–0 No. Date Location Winner Score 34 October 30, 1965 Terre Haute Ball State 52–15 35 October 29, 1966 Muncie Ball State 31–20 36 October 28, 1967 Terre Haute Ball State 26–24 37 November 2, 1968 Muncie Indiana State 20–14 38 October 11, 1969 Muncie Indiana State 26–0 39 October 10, 1970 Terre Haute Ball State 28–26 40 October 9, 1971 Muncie Ball State 20–17 41 October 9, 1972 Terre Haute Ball State 21–10 42 October 6, 1973 Muncie Ball State 18–17 43 October 5, 1974 Terre Haute Indiana State 31–22 44 October 4, 1975 Muncie Ball State 20–16 45 November 6, 1976 Muncie Ball State 24–9 46 November 5, 1977 Terre Haute Ball State 42–18 47 October 7, 1978 Muncie Ball State 7–0 48 October 6, 1979 Terre Haute Indiana State 18–13 49 November 22, 1980 Muncie Ball State 28–21 50 October 10, 1981 Terre Haute Indiana State 31–7 51 September 25, 1982 Muncie Indiana State 17–0 52 October 8, 1983 Terre Haute Indiana State 35–14 53 October 6, 1984 Indianapolis Indiana State 34–6 54 November 9, 1985 Indianapolis Ball State 29–27 55 October 4, 1986 Indianapolis Ball State 16–3 56 November 21, 1987 Indianapolis Indiana State 24–23 57 November 17, 1988 Indianapolis Ball State 24–10 58 October 26, 1989 Indianapolis Ball State 34–27 59 October 27, 1990 Muncie Ball State 42–0 60 September 28, 1991 Terre Haute Ball State 14–10 61 September 14, 2002 Muncie Ball State 23–21 62 August 28, 2003 Muncie Ball State 31–7 63 September 13, 2014 Muncie Indiana State 27–20 64 September 16, 2023 Muncie Ball State 45–7 Series: Ball State leads 39–24–1

See also

• List of NCAA college football rivalry games

References

1. "ISU football defeats Ball State 27–20 to win Victory Bell". Tribune-Star. September 14, 2014. Archived from the original on June 12, 2022. ISU defeated in-state rival Ball State 27–20 at Scheumann Stadium on Saturday.
2. "Victory Bell game between Ball State Indiana State on Saturday". Muncie Free Press. September 10, 2014. Archived from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2014. That interstate rival has not played in a decade and Ball State won the last matchup 31–7 in 2003.
3. "Ball State loses Victory Bell to Indiana State, stumbles on last possession". Muncie Free Press. September 14, 2014. Archived from the original on October 5, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2014. With Family Weekend bringing more fans besides the interstate rivalry, it took more than an hour to move traffic out of the stadium with the large crowd.
4. "Perish, Indiana State push past Ball State 27–20". USA Today. Associated Press. September 13, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2014. The Indiana State vs. Ball State game is played for the Victory Bell, which was returned to the Sycamores for the first time since 1987.
5. "Previewing Ball State vs. Indiana State". The Indianapolis Star. September 11, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
6. "Football Gameday Central: Sycamores Battle Ball State For Victory Bell Saturday". Indiana State. September 13, 2014. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
7. "The Bell Tolls For Sycamores In 27–20 Victory At Ball State". Indiana State Sycamores. September 13, 2014. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
8. "Cardinals Top Sycamores 45-7 to Retake Victory Bell". September 16, 2023.