Seniors Alexa White and football player Ethan Merriweather, plan to continue their education and relationship next year at Ball State. Like them, Trenton “Beef” Franklin and Alicia “Ali” Sinnett, Carmel Blue Hockey Players and seniors, also plan to continue their relationship in college. While couples normally see struggles in college, these two pairs have a secret weapon: sports.

Having a support system at any point in life is important, but Athletics Director Jim Inskeep said it is crucial in sports.

“For any game it is important to have a support system, whether it’s your family watching or your girlfriend or boyfriend; having (them) with you is always a bonus, and the performance of the game often reflects it,” Inskeep said. 

Sinnett said her college choice, Robert Morris University, was based on hockey, not her relationship. While she said she had Franklin’s interests in mind, the most important thing for her was finding a college that offered hockey and education.

“Talking about college was never a point of discussion because Beef decided to attend college close to me without thought,” Sinnett said.

“I knew she was going to college around Chicago so that’s where I applied; there was not much thought going into it, and neither of us were worried about it,” Franklin said.

Unlike Franklin and Sinnett, White is not part of Merriweather’s team; rather, she is a source of support for him.

“I am at almost every game, and I hope that next year I can be there as much as possible,” White said.

Ball State was not always the plan for White. However, when thinking about education and goals, Ball State is where she felt she would belong. 

“I originally wanted to go (to IU), but I changed my mind for a lot of different reasons and not just Ethan,” White said. “Ball State has an amazing nursing program. It is also a great school and, yes, Ethan was part of the decision, but he was not the only part of the decision.”

For Merriweather, the college decision was different. According to him, the offer from Ball State was the best offer he got, and although White was in his interests, he knew the decision  he made was his choice.

“Ball State was a wonderful offer as well as an amazing opportunity, and I could not pass it up especially since I knew that I wanted to continue to play in college. I am so excited that Alexa is going there as well, but that was not the main goal at first, and now that she is going I could not be more excited,” Merriweather said. 

Inskeep said having a relationship in sports is great, but it should never be the goal or something that people strive for. It is important to strive for excellence in the sport regardless of having a significant other, he said.

“Having true friends (who watch) you is almost the same as having that significant other there,” Inskeep said.