ESPN founder and 1954 DePauw University graduate, Bill Rasmussen, will come back to campus to speak at the 109th Ubben Lecture. The lecture will take place on Nov. 8 at 7:30 p.m. in Kresge Auditorium. Admission is free to all.
Rasmussen will spend the week on campus leading up to the Monon Bell football game on Nov. 11. “I always imagined him at Monon week,” said Ken Owen, special adviser to the University president and coordinator of the Ubben Lecture series. “It’s a great time to put it all together.”
ESPN was founded as the first 24-hour sports news network and is now a multi-billion dollar cross-platform company. ESPN is ranked number 32 on the Forbes list of most valued brands.
His talk will focus on ESPN, his time at DePauw, and the importance of developing ideas that can change the game. “There’s still lots or room for new ideas,” Owen said, and he hopes Rasmussen will inspire DePauw students to create the next big thing.
Rasmussen spoke at the 125th commencement ceremony and, according to Owen, is excited to come back. Even though this is not Rasmussen’s first return to DePauw, it will be different from many of his previous visits. This lecture should be the most immersive lecture yet, according to Owen, because Rasmussen will be on campus from Monday through the Monon Bell game. He plans on meeting with students in the fellowship and scholarship programs along with other opportunities to meet and work with students.
Rasmussen’s lecture shows the ties that DePauw keeps with its alumni. “He is coming on his own time,” and is open to everything, said Owen.
“To say that this is an exceptional opportunity would be a definite understatement,” said senior Robert Sherman, “not only will Media Fellows benefit from interacting with one of the best in the industry, but Management Fellows and budding entrepreneurs will get to meet the man who turned a 24/7 sports channel into a multi-billion dollar brand.”
