1980–81 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team

The 1980–81 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team represented Ball State University as a member of the Mid-American Conference during the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cardinals were led by head coach Steve Yoder and played their home games at Irving Gymnasium in Muncie, Indiana. After finishing in second place during the MAC regular season, Ball State won the MAC tournament to receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament – the first appearance in program history. As No. 12 seed in the Mideast region, the Cardinals were beaten in a very competitive game by No. 5 seed Boston College in the opening round, 93–90. The team finished with a record of 20–10 (10–6 MAC).

Schedule and results
!colspan=9 style=| Non-conference regular season

!colspan=9 style=| MAC regular season

!colspan=9 style=| MAC tournament

!colspan=9 style=| NCAA tournament