When Marlon Llewellyn learned that his son, Eastern Michigan University safety Bryce Llewellyn, would take the field at Ball State University this fall, he said the significance didn’t hit him right away.
“I found out this summer,” Llewellyn said. “I’m a mentor for the Cardinal football team. I mentor a student on the football team; everything came full circle. That’s when that moment really hit me.”
Llewellyn played on Ball State’s 1996 Mid-American Conference championship team. Still, he said, the path that brought him to the university in the first place is what made this moment feel especially meaningful.
“I was not coming to Ball State,” he said. “I wanted to go to Auburn, Florida State, or the University of Miami. I grew up in Florida. I was going to one of those schools, and it was a promise that Ball State gave my mom.”
He recalled coming home from school to find “five or six Ball State coaches” in the living room.
“He stands up and he looks at me. My mom is sitting on the couch. He looks at me and said, ‘Hey, we promised your mom before you got here that if you do choose Ball State, you’ll graduate college,’” Llewellyn said. “On the entire visit, it was the same promise. We promise you, if you choose Ball State, you’ll graduate from college.”
Llewellyn graduated with a degree in economics and went on to a teaching career that included being an adjunct professor and advisor at Ball State.
“Everything Ball State promised my mom that day in 1995, they are still delivering on that promise to me today,” he said.
Seeing Bryce on that same field brought that memory back.
“To see my son play in the same field I played on was definitely very emotional,” he said. “My mom’s no longer living. But I think she knew; I know in my heart that my mom knew I needed Ball State. And she knew something I didn’t know.”
Now, Llewellyn said the connection to Ball State has only deepened.
“It’s neat to see professors who are still here teaching recognize me,” he said. “Or to see my friends’ kids who go here on campus, stop by my office and check on me and say, ‘Hey, my mom went to school with you,’ or ‘My dad played football with you.’”
During the game, one moment in particular stood out.
“It was the fourth quarter, and it was a swing pass,” he said. “Bryce made an amazing open-field tackle. And I’m in the president’s booth in the suites, and I started cheering.” He laughed, remembering the reaction. “Everybody looks around, and they’re like, Marlon, it’s okay to cheer. Bryce made a great tackle.”
Llewellyn said the play reminded him of his own years in a Cardinals uniform. “Just to watch Bryce do the things I did at a high level… it was pretty cool.”
He said Bryce did not grow up pressured to play football.
“I always wanted Bryce to be focused on his academics,” he said. “I wanted Bryce to live a life of purpose and have an amazing career in sports or outside of sports.” But early on, “he was very aggressive. He was very physical,” and flag football soon turned into a passion.
Llewellyn said he and Bryce share the same approach to the game. “Football is 30% physical and 70% mental,” he said. “A lot of times with Bryce and me, our conversations, not really on the physical side of the sport… I really coached Bryce to be that coach on the football field, to understand the game.”
Bryce took a moment to reflect on what the night meant to him. Surrounded by classmates, family and the energy of the game, he said the experience felt special in many ways.
“I just know that the one person in my life that will always be there for me is my dad,” Bryce said. “That’s one person that I never have to wonder or be surprised by if he’s going to be by my side through thick and thin.”
As the weekend wrapped up, Llewellyn said the outpouring of support from Ball State staff and alums made the experience even more meaningful.
“It was an honor,” he said. “I was just so blown away by the support Ball State gave me. Ball State University is a great campus that honors its alums. To be on campus now as a teacher, as a faculty, and to be able to experience that moment with my son and my family, was amazing.”
Contact Health & Environmental Reporter Hanna Rauworth at 317-762-7854 or follow her on Instagram at @hanna.rauworth.
Hanna Rauworth is the Health & Environmental Reporter for the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper, where she covers topics at the intersection of public health, environmental issues, and community impact. With a commitment to storytelling that informs and empowers, she strives to highlight the challenges and solutions shaping the well-being of Indianapolis residents.
