How Chris Taylor Blends Art, Athletics & Storytelling at Ball State
Photographer / Chris Carroll
In a world where sports and art rarely intersect, Chris Taylor stands at the perfect crossroads. As the senior director of sports production at Ball State — better known as Ball State Sports Link — Taylor has built a nationally recognized program that blends storytelling, technology and creativity. But his path to the top of the sports media world started not under stadium lights, but in front of a canvas.
Painting the Path Forward
Long before he was mentoring students, Taylor was a boy with a paintbrush. His grandmother enrolled him in a children’s art class at Painted Memories in Yorktown, a studio that no longer exists but lives on in his memory. For his first project, he painted a landscape so striking that he was asked to bring it back the next Saturday to meet Bob. That single painting led to a meeting that would shape his life: a chance encounter with Bob Ross.
Ross, known for his soothing voice and iconic “happy little trees,” saw something in the young artist. What began as a meeting became a mentorship and eventually a friendship. Ross encouraged Taylor’s creativity, inspiring him to become a Certified Bob Ross Instructor, which Ross encouraged him to do at the age of 16.
After high school, Taylor enrolled at Ball State University, majoring in media production. During his time as a student, he split his life between two studios: one where he produced sports content, and another in the same Ball Communications studios where Ross was filming his legendary TV series, The Joy of Painting. Ross often invited Taylor to sit in during recordings. The two painted together and remained friends until Ross’s death in 1995.
“I got the call on July 4, 1995,” Taylor says quietly. “Losing Bob was like losing family. I didn’t pick up a brush again for years.”
A Pivot to Purpose
After 16 years in the Ball State Athletics Department, Taylor accepted a corporate communications position in Nashville, Tennessee — his dream city — expecting it to be a perfect fit. It wasn’t.
“I lasted 10 months,” he says, laughing. “A desk job wasn’t me. I missed the creative part, the storytelling, the energy.”
His return to Muncie coincided with a bold new idea from Dr. Joe Misiewicz, professor emeritus and one of the architects behind Ball State’s Department of Telecommunication, now Media. In 2008, Misiewicz envisioned a student-driven program that would give Ball State Athletics the same kind of polished media coverage as professional sports. He called it Sports Link.
“Dr. Joe reached out and said, ‘I need someone to make this happen,’” Taylor recalls. “And I was all in.”
Building a National Powerhouse
What began as a pilot project quickly became a national model. Sixteen years later, Ball State Sports Link has grown into a powerhouse and is now recognized as the No. 1 sports media program in the country by the Broadcast Education Association.
Its student work undergoes blind juried evaluation by professionals nationwide and consistently earns top honors, including multiple professional Emmy Awards.
Sports Link remains the only four-year production track of its kind in the United States, accepting just 15 students each semester. Applicants must visit campus, submit portfolios and demonstrate both technical skill and creative storytelling ability.
“We’re attracting students from all over the country,” Taylor says. “Many of them graduate with jobs already lined up.”
The quality of their work hasn’t gone unnoticed. Ball State was one of the first ESPN production partners, equipped with a cutting-edge studio that rivals those of major networks.
“We’re not just teaching students how to run cameras,” Taylor explains. “We’re teaching them how to tell stories that matter, to capture emotion, not just action.”
Sophomore Jude Kieffer, a producer with the fall 2025 Sports Link team, agrees.
“What makes us different than other programs is that we’re storytellers, not just tech students,” Kieffer says. “We have a great relationship with the Athletics Department, which gives us access on the field, in huddles and even in the locker room. That level of trust lets us show who players really are, not just how they perform.”
Full Circle
Despite his full schedule, Taylor still loves to paint. While he enjoys spending time in his studio, most of his painting instruction happens on the road. For Taylor, both art and sports production are built on the same foundation: passion, patience and storytelling.
From happy little trees to big-league dreams, Chris Taylor’s story is a reminder that artistry and athletics aren’t opposites. In the right hands, they’re part of the same masterpiece.
