Walking up the bleacher stairs, Charlie receives points and cheers. As he confidently walks through the student section during a Ball State football game, he takes the time to pose for pictures and videos with students who want to interact with him. Without a voice, he uses his movements to interact with fans.
Charlie Cardinal has officially represented Ball State University since 1969, though he made his first appearance a year prior, according to Ball State Athletics. He has undergone five makeovers since his debut, each change representing a substantial share of the school’s evolution. But, even in the midst of change, Charlie has been a constant.
1968-69
At the 1968 Homecoming football game, Charlie stands on the field in Converse shoes and a cheer uniform. Different from the Charlie we know today, he has no fluffy feathers. Instead, the performer’s hands were out, and his head was made of papier-mache. This original form kicks off the 57 years of Charlie Cardinal.
1970s
In September 1975, Charlie is seen once again with a large, featherless head. But in this version, he wears no uniform or costume. Three years after this appearance, he changes his look. In 1978, a photo of him in Irving Gym, which eventually became the Jo-Ann Gora Rec Center, shows him donning a softer look. He wore a small mascot head, red pants, a sweater and feather-like mittens. Despite the more mellow look, he still lacks a smile.
1980s
In a 1981 football game photo, Charlie displays all his feathers. With no uniform or clothes, he poses with only a red, fuzzy suit. Later in the 80s, he takes a form much closer to his current look. Although he was still without a uniform, the baggy form is gone. He took more of a bird shape. His hands were no longer mittens, but more glove-like with fingers. Between his beak, his teeth show proudly.
1990s
From 1994 to 1999, current Ball State Senior Graphic Designer Jason Fragomeni was Charlie Cardinal. He learned about tryouts from an announcement in the Daily News. While he was excited, his tryout process was a little different, with no suit to act in.
“Wendy Richards, the cheer coach, would give instructions like ‘Ok, so now say that you’re walking along and a kid wants to say hi to you, so what do you do?’” Jason said. “So we would do it, but it just was weird because we didn’t have the suit on.”
Despite the awkward tryout process, Jason got the part. Only sharing the role with a few other students, he got a fair share of events and sports to attend. At one specific football game, he took a break after halftime and took the mascot’s head off.. When he came back out, the head was not where he had left it.
“The first thing I [did] was panic and then I found the stadium officials of some sort … I went up to them and told them, ‘Hey, by the way, I can’t find my head, it was just here,’” he said.
Shortly after losing it, he was able to locate Charlie’s missing head.
“[Turns out] it was up in the crowd and it was getting passed around from person to person, student to student,” Jason laughed.
Even with this tumultuous experience, he enjoyed his time as Charlie and the opportunities it gave him to travel and learn.
2000s – 2010s
In 2006, Charlie got an upgrade to a leaner suit to help make movements easier and for more comfort. In 2012, only his head received a change to aid in ventilation, according to Ball State Athletics. In Oct. 2015, he launched his Instagram account, making his first post. Along with posting himself and events he attends, the account allows fans to mention him in posts. One of his account features is a highlighted folder exclusively for photos with fans.
Present day
Since the start of his Instagram account, Charlie had been posting about his adventures at Ball State, but he had never posted any updates to his look. In Aug. 2023, 11 years after his last improvements, the mascot was in need of a change. He posted a video showing off his new and most recent changes to his look. He flaunted his updated feathers and football jersey to match the team. Also in this update, his wings gained more muscle.
With over 3,000 followers on his Instagram, Charlie is often used to drive engagement between fans and Ball State sports. Josh Grimes, the director of experiential marketing for Ball State Athletics, focuses on the marketing and engagement for the school’s sports. Part of his work includes employing Charlie to engage and promote Ball State Athletics to support our teams.
“We’ll go take Charlie on campus, especially during homecoming week, saying ‘hey, come out to the game,’ and it doesn’t even have to be for football necessarily,” he said. “Anything we can do to get Charlie involved in the community, get some more people to come to our games.”
Along with the community and fans’ participation with Charlie, student athletes also get to enjoy his spirited antics.
“The athletes around here love him because he is the face of the university. Any interaction he has with student athletes, I think, enhances their experience, and that’s what I’m all about,” Josh said.
Between the seven men’s teams and twelve women’s teams, Ball State athletics has a busy year ahead. With the help of Charlie and his cheerful attitude and recently updated look, he will inspire the community to show up for the teams. Josh hopes to utilize the smiling mascot in new and different ways as time goes on.
“I’m excited to see what else we can come up with and see how we can get him even more engaged with our fans, with our community, than he already is,” he said.
Charlie’s changes since his first appearance have altered his look drastically. The photos of him have gotten better quality and are now being shared on social media, but his significance has stayed the same.
For decades, he’s shown up at various university events to showcase and encourage Ball State spirit. His strong character will continue to embrace his traditions as time goes on and as he continues to evolve.
Contact Sidney Miller via email at Sidney.Miller@bsu.edu.
