# Blue Key Victory Bell

The Blue Key Victory Bell is presented to the winner of the college football game between Indiana State University and Ball State University. The two schools met regularly between 1924 and 1991 but sporadically since that season. The two have competed for the Victory Bell since 1940; they were conference rivals from 1924 to 1947 in the Indiana Intercollegiate Conference and again from 1951 to 1967 in the Indiana Collegiate Conference. Ball State was a regional campus of Indiana State University from 1918 to 1961; since the 1961–62 academic year, Ball State has operated independently.

## History

Early in the series, games would be played either at Terre Haute, Indiana (hosted by Indiana State) or Muncie, Indiana (hosted by Ball State). The first two games between the schools took place at Terre Haute in 1924 and 1925; then the series between the schools continued on a near home-and-home basis from 1931 to 1983. From 1984 to 1989, the games were played at a neutral site, Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis; during this era, Indiana State moved down to Division I-AA (now Division I FCS) while Ball State remained Division I-A (now Division I FBS). The last home-and-home cycle for this game was in 1990 and 1991. Since 2002, all games in this series have been played in Muncie. The Victory Bell continues to be the official game trophy, even though the Ball State/Indiana state series has become less frequent since the 1990s.
In 1940, the Blue Key chapters at both Indiana State and Ball State agreed to donate a bell to the winner of the football game between their two schools.
On September 13, 2014, Indiana State beat Ball State for their first win over Ball State since 1987. The most recent game in the series occurred on September 16, 2023, in which Ball State defeated Indiana State by a score of 45–7.

## Game results

| Ball State victories | Indiana State victories | Tie games |
| No. | Date | Location | Winner | Score |
| 1 | October 18, 1924 | Terre Haute | Indiana State | 47–0 |
| 2 | November 6, 1925 | Terre Haute | Indiana State | 20–7 |
| 3 | November 6, 1931 | Terre Haute | Indiana State | 13–7 |
| 4 | November 12, 1932 | Muncie | Ball State | 12–0 |
| 5 | November 4, 1933 | Terre Haute | Indiana State | 9–6 |
| 6 | November 10, 1934 | Muncie | Ball State | 15–6 |
| 7 | November 2, 1935 | Terre Haute | Indiana State | 12–6 |
| 8 | October 17, 1936 | Muncie | Indiana State | 3–0 |
| 9 | November 6, 1937 | Terre Haute | Ball State | 7–0 |
| 10 | October 8, 1938 | Muncie | Ball State | 13–9 |
| 11 | October 21, 1939 | Terre Haute | Ball State | 28–7 |
| 12 | November 16, 1940 | Muncie | Indiana State | 27–7 |
| 13 | November 15, 1941 | Terre Haute | Ball State | 7–0 |
| 14 | November 14, 1942 | Muncie | Ball State | 7–0 |
| 15 | November 16, 1946 | Terre Haute | Indiana State | 3–0 |
| 16 | November 15, 1947 | Muncie | Ball State | 14–10 |
| 17 | November 13, 1948 | Terre Haute | Ball State | 10–7 |
| 18 | November 12, 1949 | Muncie | Ball State | 34–6 |
| 19 | November 11, 1950 | Muncie | Ball State | 32–0 |
| 20 | October 20, 1951 | Muncie | Tie | 0–0 |
| 21 | October 18, 1952 | Terre Haute | Ball State | 33–0 |
| 22 | October 17, 1953 | Muncie | Ball State | 33–6 |
| 23 | October 16, 1954 | Terre Haute | Indiana State | 14–13 |
| 24 | October 15, 1955 | Muncie | Ball State | 19–6 |
| 25 | October 20, 1956 | Terre Haute | Ball State | 26–14 |
| 26 | November 9, 1957 | Terre Haute | Ball State | 20–0 |
| 27 | November 8, 1958 | Muncie | Ball State | 26–8 |
| 28 | November 7, 1959 | Terre Haute | Indiana State | 29–8 |
| 29 | November 5, 1960 | Muncie | Indiana State | 26–23 |
| 30 | October 21, 1961 | Muncie | Indiana State | 4–0 |
| 31 | October 20, 1962 | Terre Haute | Indiana State | 22–0 |
| 32 | October 19, 1963 | Muncie | Ball State | 15–7 |
| 33 | October 17, 1964 | Terre Haute | Indiana State | 17–0 |
| No. | Date | Location | Winner | Score |
| 34 | October 30, 1965 | Terre Haute | Ball State | 52–15 |
| 35 | October 29, 1966 | Muncie | Ball State | 31–20 |
| 36 | October 28, 1967 | Terre Haute | Ball State | 26–24 |
| 37 | November 2, 1968 | Muncie | Indiana State | 20–14 |
| 38 | October 11, 1969 | Muncie | Indiana State | 26–0 |
| 39 | October 10, 1970 | Terre Haute | Ball State | 28–26 |
| 40 | October 9, 1971 | Muncie | Ball State | 20–17 |
| 41 | October 9, 1972 | Terre Haute | Ball State | 21–10 |
| 42 | October 6, 1973 | Muncie | Ball State | 18–17 |
| 43 | October 5, 1974 | Terre Haute | Indiana State | 31–22 |
| 44 | October 4, 1975 | Muncie | Ball State | 20–16 |
| 45 | November 6, 1976 | Muncie | Ball State | 24–9 |
| 46 | November 5, 1977 | Terre Haute | Ball State | 42–18 |
| 47 | October 7, 1978 | Muncie | Ball State | 7–0 |
| 48 | October 6, 1979 | Terre Haute | Indiana State | 18–13 |
| 49 | November 22, 1980 | Muncie | Ball State | 28–21 |
| 50 | October 10, 1981 | Terre Haute | Indiana State | 31–7 |
| 51 | September 25, 1982 | Muncie | Indiana State | 17–0 |
| 52 | October 8, 1983 | Terre Haute | Indiana State | 35–14 |
| 53 | October 6, 1984 | Indianapolis | Indiana State | 34–6 |
| 54 | November 9, 1985 | Indianapolis | Ball State | 29–27 |
| 55 | October 4, 1986 | Indianapolis | Ball State | 16–3 |
| 56 | November 21, 1987 | Indianapolis | Indiana State | 24–23 |
| 57 | November 17, 1988 | Indianapolis | Ball State | 24–10 |
| 58 | October 26, 1989 | Indianapolis | Ball State | 34–27 |
| 59 | October 27, 1990 | Muncie | Ball State | 42–0 |
| 60 | September 28, 1991 | Terre Haute | Ball State | 14–10 |
| 61 | September 14, 2002 | Muncie | Ball State | 23–21 |
| 62 | August 28, 2003 | Muncie | Ball State | 31–7 |
| 63 | September 13, 2014 | Muncie | Indiana State | 27–20 |
| 64 | September 16, 2023 | Muncie | Ball State | 45–7 |
| Series: Ball State leads 39–24–1 |||||