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• Mark Cuban, sportswriter Bob Ryan, Fox Sports president Eric Shanks headline IU's Sports Media Week

Mark Cuban, sportswriter Bob Ryan, Fox Sports president Eric Shanks headline IU's Sports Media Week

• Feb. 12, 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The National Sports Journalism Center is welcoming Hall of Fame sports writer Bob Ryan, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Fox Sports President Eric Shanks to Indiana University next week as part of a special week of activities for students about the media and sports.

The center, based in The Media School at IU, also is organizing a panel about careers in sports journalism featuring the editor of ESPN the Magazine, reporters for Sports Illustrated, WTTV-4 and other outlets, as well as demonstrating new advanced video technologies being used by students.

“We have seen lot of exciting developments in the sports media program, including bringing the academic program into The Media School, bringing the National Sports Journalism Center to Bloomington and developing opportunities for our students both on and off campus,” said Media School Dean James Shanahan.

“It's wonderful that our students will be able to engage with a sports journalist as accomplished as Bob Ryan,” Shanahan added. “The visit of Cuban and Shanks is another exciting sign of the growth and vitality of this program. We look forward to the opportunity for our students and faculty to participate in an exciting dialogue on sports and technology with two of the major industry players."

Galen Clavio, director of the National Sports Journalism Center and an associate professor in The Media School, said next week’s activities demonstrate the momentum that has been building since the center moved to the Bloomington campus in the fall.

"Our goal at Indiana University is to build the best and most dynamic sports media program in the country. Sports Media Week gives us the chance to showcase some of the many facets that make up the IU Sports Media program,” Clavio said. “We give our students exposure to legendary figures in journalism, exciting and forward-thinking panel discussions, the chance to hear directly from alumni who are active sports media professionals, and hands-on experience with emerging technology that will help to shape storytelling and reporting in sports in the future."

From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16, there will be a public demonstration of some of the new virtual reality video technologies funded through the Mark Cuban Center for Sports Media and Technology established last year. The event will take place in the second-floor lobby of the Telecommunications Building, 1229 E. Seventh St.

Visit by Bob Ryan

Ryan, who was presented with the Red Smith Award last year by the Associated Press Sports Editors, will visit The Media School on Wednesday and Thursday. He will give a free public talk at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17, in Room 220 of Ernie Pyle Hall, 940 E. Seventh St.

Ryan retired from the Boston Globe in 2012 but continues to contribute columns to the paper. He is a familiar face on television, frequently appearing on ESPN’s programs “Around the Horn” and “Pardon the Interruption” and on Comcast SportsNet New England. He is a member of the National Sports Writers and Sportscasters Hall of Fame. 

He has covered 21 NBA Finals, 29 NCAA Final Fours, 11 Olympics, 11 World Series and several baseball playoff series involving the Boston Red Sox; 11 Super Bowls, five BCS championship games and numerous PGA events such as the U.S. Open, the Masters and the British Open.

Fox Sports President Eric Shanks and Mark Cuban

IU alumni Cuban and Shanks will keynote a panel discussion on sports media and technology at 3 p.m. Thursday in the Whittenberger Auditorium of the Indiana Memorial Union, 900 E. Seventh St. The event, co-sponsored by Fox Sports and the Cuban Center, is free and open to the public and includes a Q&A.

Cuban earned a Bachelor of Science in management and administration from the Kelley School of Business in 1981. After graduating from IU, he relocated to Dallas, where he founded a computer consulting service, MicroSolutions, which he later sold to CompuServe in 1990 for $6 million.

In 1995, Cuban and fellow IU alumnus Todd Wagner came up with an Internet-based solution to not being able to listen to Hoosiers basketball games in Texas. That solution was Broadcast.com -- streaming audio over the Internet. In just four short years, Broadcast.com (then Audionet) was sold to Yahoo for $5.6 billion.

Since acquiring the Dallas Mavericks in 2000, Cuban has overseen the team competing in the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history in 2006 -- and becoming NBA World Champions in 2011. They are listed as one of Forbes' most valuable franchises in sports. Cuban also is chairman and CEO of AXS tv, one of ABC's "Sharks" on the hit show "Shark Tank" and an investor in an ever-growing portfolio of businesses.

A six-time Emmy Award winner, Shanks is responsible for all entities within Fox Sports, including Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, Fox Deportes, its regional networks and its digital ventures. He also is executive producer of all Fox Sports productions. Named to the position in 2010 at age 38, he is believed to be the youngest person to become president of a broadcast network sports division.

Originally from Brazil, Ind., Shanks joined Fox Sports in 1994 as a broadcast associate, after working for CBS Sports as an IU student. He served on production crews for the network’s coverage of the National Hockey League and Major League Baseball and helped to develop the yellow first-down line that is a staple of today’s televised football games. He subsequently became a producer at Fox Sports and then vice president of enhanced programming for Fox Television Networks.

From 2004 to 2010, he was executive vice president for entertainment at DirecTV, overseeing business activities related to the development of original entertainment, advanced products and advertising sales. He led DirecTV Sports Networks’ business unit that created NFL RedZone, featuring NFL Sunday Ticket programming, and multiscreen coverage of the Masters golf tournament.

Sports media career panel

Five IU Media School alumni -- ESPN's Chad Millman, Sports Illustrated's Matt Dollinger, CBS 4's Tricia Whitaker and freelance sports journalists Scott Powers and Stephanie Kuzydym -- will participate in a sports media career panel discussion from 10 to 11 a.m. Friday, Feb. 19, in the IMU Maple Room.

Founded at IU Bloomington in 2009, the National Sports Journalism Center’s mission is to promote the education, practice and research of sports journalism and communication throughout the state, nation and world. It serves as a conduit for experiential education opportunities, including hands-on experience in sports writing, sports broadcasting, sport and social media, and other areas.

Related Links

• National Sports Journalism Center
• IU Media School