Former Beaver Named Interim AD at Ball State
1980 graduate Ken Bothof remembers teachings of Coach Jay Beekmann
Buena Vista University alum Ken Bothof ended a brief retirement stint by returning to work as Interim Director of Athletics for Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. Bothof had retired on June 30 from his post as Director of Athletics for the University of Northern Kentucky, where he had served for nine years. He was hired 10 weeks later by Ball State.
“Going to Ball State represents a great opportunity to help another university and a President in Geoff Mearns who hired me at Northern Kentucky,” says Bothof. “I am honored to be in a position to assist Ball State and the Cardinals student-athletes.”
Working with student-athletes has been a way of life for Bothof, a student-athlete who played baseball and basketball at Buena Vista. The native of Slayton, Minn., speaks fondly of the lessons imparted by the late Coach Jay Beekmann, a fellow BV graduate who coached the Beavers from 1956-86.
“I followed by older brother John to BV and, like John, had the privilege of playing for Coach Beekmann,” Bothof says. “I remember how Coach approached the game of baseball and the life lessons he said you could learn while working and competing.”
The Beaver team during Bothof’s senior year won the Iowa Conference with a 13-1 mark and went on to upset defending national champ California State-Stanislaus to start the Regional tournament. Bothof pitched and played outfield. He picked up a pitching victory over host Illinois-Benedictine before the Beavers lost to Regional champion Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
“Coach Beekmann taught life lessons, especially after some of our losses,” he says. “I remember a particularly heated game and he talked to us about the ways in which we’d need to deal with adversity later in life.”
Following graduation, Bothof taught and coached in Storm Lake and Denison. He then interned with the San Jose State University Athletic Department while studying for his master’s degree. He was soon added to the San Jose staff, thus starting a lifelong vocation in serving student-athletes. Stops would follow at Idaho State University, St. Louis University, the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, and then Northern Kentucky.
“I moved out west and then slowly we moved our way back to the Midwest,” he says. “It was intentional as I wanted to back in the Midwest as I always appreciated my upbringing.”
While at Wisconsin-Green Bay, he helped oversee an $11-million fundraising effort in the Athletic Department that helped fuel construction of a $30 million event center on campus. His arrival at Northern Kentucky coincided with the university’s transition into NCAA Division I athletics.
“Our men’s basketball team qualified for the NCAA Tournament the first year we were eligible,” he says. “We played Kentucky in Indianapolis on CBS in March of 2017. It was such an awesome experience for our players, coaches, fans, and community. It was an early indication to everyone that the investment in Division I athletics added real value to the University community!”
Bothof and his wife, Carrie, are the parents of two children and the grandparents of four. The couple resides in the northern region of Kentucky and plan to remain there following his work at Ball State.
“Ball State will hire a new Director of Athletics within a few months, probably early in 2023,” Bothof says. “Until then, I’ll help serve in my role, continuing my work in trying to positively impact the lives of students and student-athletes. It’s been a very rewarding career.”