USC’s 2007 Cuban Commencement: Entrepreneurial maverick Mark Cuban Provides a Vision for Success in Today’s Business Environment

With dates for 2007 school commencements fast approaching across the nation, the University of Southern California joins other major educational institutions in seeking out prominent and noteworthy commencement speakers to inspire their graduates. In this post I am honored to empower myself and nominate Mark Cuban to the USC Honorary Degree’s Committee (HDC) for a Doctorate in Humane Letters and 2007 class commencement speaker. Anyone familiar with professional basketball will immediately recognize Cuban as the flamboyant and highly successful owner of the NBA Dallas Mavericks. But most sports fans may be surprised to learn that Cuban also created two of the hottest and most lucrative internet communication startups of the 21st century, Broadcast.com and HDNet (logo pictured). Cuban’s rapid successes in the sports and business worlds have made him a billionaire in his mid 40’s and recognized by his peers as an innovator in adapting Internet technology to sports entertainment businesses. In the words of James Freedman, President Emeritus of Dartmouth College and author of Idealism and Liberal Education, an excellent commencement speaker should be a “talismans for inspiration and rejuvenation at those hollow moments when we feel depressed and defeated.” Graduation can be a time of uncertainty and emotional stress as students leave the safe confines of a well-structured university environment for the rapid and unpredictable dynamics of the world marketplace. The graduates are looking for heroes to give them confidence that USC has prepared them for their careers and Cuban’s charisma and success record are the best tonic to overcome any fears.

Mark Cuban’s qualifications for USC’s commencement speaker goes far beyond the standards set forth by the HDC. His “extraordinary achievements in scholarship, the professions, or other creative activities” are mercurial in time, diverse in scope, and innovative in concept. Barely out of college, he built up a startup software business called Micro Solutions that he quickly leveraged to create the ubiquitous Broadcast.com, an Internet company that streams live basketball games to paying viewers. Whether through uncanny insight or remarkable business savvy, he sold Broadcast.com to Yahoo and diversified his stock holdings just before the dot.com bubble burst in the late 1990s. While continuing his technology pursuits with the highly profitable HDNet, a high definition cable network company, Cuban jumped at the chance to purchase the Dallas Mavericks and turnaround the ailing franchise. Within a year he had rebuilt the team into a top contender that has challenged for the NBA title over the last five years. He appears to have the Midas touch in every field he enters. Besides Cuban’s outstanding contributions in the Internet entertainment arena he has also made “outstanding contributions to the welfare and development of USC and/or society.” Despite the abrasive demeanor he shows at Maverick basketball games as an owner who encourages criticizing officials and extolling outlandish displays of team solidarity, Cuban is deeply committed to helping society improve the plight of the less fortunate. He has matched every NBA fine imposed on him with millions of his own dollars for worthy charities within the Dallas area. His immediate success with the Mavericks have made him an instant hero among the local community and his enthusiasm is contagious, providing fans a sense of pride and encouragement extending into their own personal lives. Of all the honorary degrees USC could confer on Cuban, including a science degree for contributions exploiting the vast potential of the Internet, Humane Letters is most appropriate for his unbending commitment to using his wealth for the benefit of society.

Like many highly successful men, Cuban is feared by his business competitors and often controversial in his actions. He even once started a public “booing” campaign against former Maverick players who returned to Dallas on opposing teams. But despite these occasional outbursts, Cuban embodies those personal traits central to USC’s Mission statement, “strongly committed to academic freedom and proud of our entrepreneurial heritage.” Inscribed at the base of Tommy Trojan is the Latin motto, “Palmam qui meruit ferat” (Let him who deserves it bear away the palm). Mark Cuban has proven himself a victor among men and it is only fitting that USC award him their highest honors, the palm of Doctor of Humane Letters and 2007 Commencement Speaker.