They will fund a bus trip for students to support the Ball State Cardinals in a key Mid American Conference showdown with the Northern Illinois Huskies.
Whitlock, a former Ball State football player and currently a sportswriter for ESPN, reached out to Ball State officials last week asking how he could help fund a trip for students to next week’s game, which will be the biggest regular-season game of the season in the MAC, pitting 10-0 Northern Illinois against the 9-1 Cardinals. Whitlock agreed to donate $5,000, which will pay for most of the trip for 100 students, including the game ticket, the bus ride and two meals.
Whitlock then contacted Hoke's wife, Laura, and asked if they would match the donation. Both Brady and Laura Hoke are Ball State graduates, and they agreed to contribute $5,000 as well.
“I gotta give Jason a lot of credit,” said Brian Hardin, deputy athletics director at Ball State. “He called at the beginning of last week and said he would love to find a way to get as many students up there as possible.”
Hoke coached Ball State to the MAC title game in 2008.
One has to wonder if this was done prior to the article Whitlock wrote criticizing some of the Wolverines players.
