Lessons in chemistry: Ball State football coaching staff was years in the making (2025)

MUNCIE — Mike Uremovich was officially hired as the next head coach of Ball State football on Dec. 4. His staff was officially finalized 16 days later on Dec. 20, but the Cardinals' new crop of coaches was years in the making.

Uremovich's college coaching career began as a Northern Illinois graduate assistant in 2001 and has taken him through every level of the sport, from Division-III offensive coordinator to FBS head coach. Along the way, he met and worked closely with many coaches who would later become his assistant coaches in Muncie.

Out of the 13 full-time coaches that make up the staff, nine of them have experience working with Uremovich over the years — most of them in the last three seasons at Butler. It's not at all uncommon for a head coach to fill his staff with familiar faces, but Uremovich's and Ball State's prioritization of a staff with strong chemistry was notable.

"Being a sitting head coach when you get a head coaching job is nice because you already have a staff of people that you believe in you can pull from," Uremovich said. "Your staff really is important that you're all on the same page. You're all going the same direction, you know the system that you're trying to run, and we're really excited with the guys we were able to get to come here."

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Barr played college football at NC State as a three-year starter on the offensive line from 2013-15. The Wolfpack's offensive line coach during that span was none other than Uremovich.

"I really enjoyed playing for him, you know, he coached us really hard, but it was a lot of fun to be around too," Barr said. "Definitely a guy that I played hard for, and then I think it kind of shows his commitment to his players, that 'Hey, come play for me, and then come coach with me too.'"

With so many of the staff members starting off together as student assistants or graduate assistants, they have essentially grown up together, going from fresh out of college looking for a start in coaching to full-time coaches at the FBS level. Quarterbacks coach Craig Harmon was on those NIU staffs where Barr and Chase, among other Ball State assistants, got their starts.

"You get out here and you see them, and it's just everything you thought it would be when they started as GA's years ago," Harmon said. "You knew the future was bright for every one of them. And now you get to see it, and you get to reap the benefits, because you're working with it every day."

Lessons in chemistry: Ball State football coaching staff was years in the making (1)

The chemistry throughout the staff made it easy for everyone to get on the same page quickly. Now, Uremovich and his staff will look to be the group that turns Ball State football around.

Contact Cade Hampton via email at cbhampton@muncie.gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @CadeHamp10.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: New Ball State football coaching staff was years in the making