The entire school, including classrooms, a library, and the president's residence were housed in what is today's Frank A. Bracken Administration Building.

To pay for updated materials and refurbishing the once-abandoned Administration Building, the school operated under a mortgage from the Muncie Trust Company.

In early 1918, during the Indiana General Assembly's short session, state legislators accepted the gift of the school and land by the Ball brothers.

During this act, the state also reorganized its relationship with Terre Haute and established a separate local board of trustees for the Muncie campus.

Recognizing the college's expanding academic curriculum and growing enrollment (10,066 students), the General Assembly approved renaming the school to Ball State University in 1965.

[13] Under the university's 14th president, Dr. Jo Ann Gora, over $520 million was committed to new construction and renovation projects throughout the Ball State campus.

[13] Within the last decade, Ball State University adopted Education Redefined as its motto, focusing on "immersive learning" to engage students across all academic programs in real-world projects.

To date, there have been over 1,250 immersive learning projects, impacting residents in all of Indiana's 92 counties under the mentoring of faculty from every academic department.

During construction, the former LaFollette Complex was demolished to make way for a new green space to be utilized by students and faculty with 10 pillars of Indiana limestone placed in the center in remembrance of the former residence hall.

Streetscape features include landscaped medians, granite curbing, limestone bollards and planters, bus turn-outs, and brick crosswalks.

Distinctive features include its mix of academic buildings, residential and dining halls, and performing arts venues.

Notable landmarks include Bracken Library, Emens Auditorium, and the Frog Baby Fountain on University Green.

Most of Ball State University's athletic facilities and intramural fields are located on the northernmost portion of campus near the intersection of McGalliard Rd.

Ball State University's campus buildings exhibit a blending of architectural styles that generally reflect the time period in which they were designed.

While red brick with limestone accents have remained the favored façade materials, large windows have become more commonplace to emphasize natural lighting.

[34][35] Recent buildings (mid-2010s to present) have embraced contemporary architecture featuring open atriums, large windows, and sustainable design elements.

"[41] In 2009, then-president Jo Ann Gora announced the university's plans for installing the largest geothermal energy project of its kind in the U.S.[16][42] Ball State committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 80,000 tons annually through the installation of a $65 million geothermal heating and cooling system and closure of all four coal-fired boilers on campus.

In 2024, Ball State accepted 68.9% of undergraduate applicants, with admission standards considered challenging, and with those enrolled having an average 3.52 high school GPA.

The library provides access to about 2.3 million books, periodicals, microforms, audiovisual materials, software, government publication maps, musical scores, archival records, and other information sources.

[56] Ball State ranked 191st nationally on U.S. News & World Report's 2021 “Top Performers on Social Mobility” list.

[77] Ball State is often credited as one of the first universities in the nation to begin a Safe Zone training program, which began in 1992, to educate the public and empower LGBTQ allies and advocates.

[84] Originally founded in 1922 as The Easterner, the newspaper was among the first student publications to be inducted into the Associated Collegiate Press’ Hall of Fame in 1988 and has won numerous national pacemaker awards.

[85] Byte is a multimedia student organization that produces news, features, reviews, graphics, podcasts, and videos focusing on entertainment, technology, and culture.

[90] WCRD is a non-commercial radio station operated full-time by Ball State students from studios in the David Letterman Communication and Media Building.

Even though the Cardinals lost the game, BSU player Chandler Thompson recorded what is considered to be one of the most memorable put-back dunks in college basketball history.

Despite limited practice time prior to the tournament, the Ball State Curlers went 1–2 during pool play, with their sole victory coming in a confident 10–4 match against the Big Ten's University of Illinois.

While initially on display in the David Owsley Museum of Art, students began a tradition of rubbing the statue's nose for good luck before taking exams.

Since its move and restoration, students have started a new tradition of dressing the statue to reflect weather patterns (scarves and hats in the winter)[106] or current university events (jerseys and helmets for upcoming football games).

[107] Forest Idyl, more commonly known by students and faculty as "The Naked Lady," is a bronze statue of a partially nude woman mingling with two wild deer.

[114] For at least a decade, it had become a tradition for students and visitors to stick pieces of chewed gum to a honey locust tree between Emens Parking Garage and Pruis Hall.