Opposing teams call it the toughest environment in the Mid-American Conference (MAC); we call it “The Nest.” Ball State’s student section at each home basketball game is made up of as many as 2,000 Cardinal fans. T-shirts and face paint are the typical uniform, and loud voices are the weapons as Nesters cheer the Ball State men's basketball team on to victory.

Our fans give Ball State a serious home-court advantage in Worthen Arena. The MAC agreed and deemed “The Nest” the top student section in the conference. But that’s not the only spotlight that’s been on our crazy Cardinal faithful. We also won an award for how our student section got its identity.

In 2004, Ball State students took on the task of naming the student section in Worthen Arena. They gladly accepted the challenge and put their creative minds to work. Students submitted potential names, and members of the Ball State athletics staff and men’s basketball team narrowed the field to 16. The finalists were placed into an NCAA tournament-style bracket and posted on ballstatesports.com. More than 10,000 votes were cast, and the names were narrowed down to a “final four.” From that, the “The Nest” was born. The American Marketing Association called it the “Best Student Promotion in the Nation.”

Want to get into The Nest? Admission to all Ball State athletic events is free with your student ID.