Jeff Mitchell was introduced as the Cardinals’ Director of Athletics on February 6, 2023. A respected administrator with more than two decades of experience in higher education and athletics administration, Mitchell is currently in his third year as a member of the Ball State University senior executive team and leads an athletics department that sponsors 19 programs with more than 450 student-athletes.
During his first two years at the helm, Mitchell’s leadership fostered significant competitive success, new standards of academic excellence, increased commitment to community engagement, enhanced growth in philanthropic support and revenue generation, and investment in comprehensive facility improvements. In 2024–25, Mitchell led Ball State to secure its first-ever Carol A. Cartwright Award, signifying the Mid-American Conference’s best overall athletics program, recognizing academic excellence, athletic success, and civic engagement.
Ball State has claimed 10 conference championships under Mitchell’s leadership. Academically, Ball State established a new benchmark in 2024–25 as all 19 varsity programs recorded a team GPA above 3.0 in both semesters. The department achieved its highest spring semester GPA in the past decade (3.487) and its highest full-year GPA in 10 years (3.46). In the community, the Cardinals logged more than 4,200 hours of service in Muncie and across East Central Indiana.
In addition to these competitive and academic milestones, Mitchell negotiated a new multimedia rights deal with Peak Sports MGMT valued at more than $10 million. Fundraising for Ball State Athletics also recorded its highest two-year total ever, with more than $17.9 million raised. Nearly all Ball State sports venues have undergone significant updates over the past two years, with completed or approved construction projects accounting for approximately $25 million in facility enhancements.
Mitchell is the co-author of the textbook Sport, Ethics and Leadership, published in 2017, and previously served as an adjunct professor of business leadership at the University of Southern Mississippi. He earned his Bachelor of Arts (2001) and Master of Business Administration (2003) degrees from Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, where he was a four-year member of the varsity baseball team. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 2005, where he also served as a graduate assistant in the external relations unit, primarily working with the Ole Miss football and men’s basketball programs. Mitchell and his wife, April, are parents to a daughter, Harper Wynne (17), and a son, Carson (12).
