ESPN Founder Bill Rasmussen's National Speaking Tour Continues Today, Thursday, September 13th, at the University of Connecticut
Storrs, CT –
September 13, 2012 – Bill Rasmussen, the legendary
entrepreneur who founded ESPN, will
speak about the birth of ESPN, leadership
and entrepreneurship in an appearance at the University of Connecticut this
afternoon (Thursday, September 13th) from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Student Union Theatre on the
Storrs Campus.
“ESPN: The Creation and Evolution of a Global Sports
Network with Bill Rasmussen” is presented by the Leadership Legacy Experience
at the University of Connecticut. During
his presentation, Rasmussen will
tell the story of the birth of ESPN
and the creation of a global sports enterprise.
He will also speak about leadership and the skills necessary to create
such a successful global brand icon.
In
Rasmussen’s presentation, the
audience is given a rare opportunity to hear and feel the stories of a man who
was considered by the three major television networks at the time (ABC, NBC
& CBS) a dreamer and all-around “crazy man” to even think that he could
compete with them.
Jim
Miller, the co-author of the recent best-selling book, “Those Guys Have All The Fun: Inside the World of ESPN,” recently
told John Ourand of The Sports Business
Journal that “this is a guy whose idea gave birth
to, arguably, the most successful media story of our time.”
Try
to imagine the world without ESPN
and Sports Center
A
former radio and television sports broadcaster, Rasmussen had been the Whalers Communications Director, but when
the Whalers didn’t make the 1978 WHA playoffs, Rasmussen and others on staff were fired. His idea for an
all-sports cable TV network captured his imagination, and he incorporated the
fledgling network on July 14, 1978. He had already begun to seek out cable
television companies, sponsors, investors and partners. With an idea that was
truly ahead of its time, and running out of cash, Rasmussen found one investor who believed in the concept in
February, 1979, and by September 7, 1979, ESPN
was on the air for the first time, 14 months from Rasmussen’s moment of inspiration.
A life-long entrepreneur and sports fan, Rasmussen’s innovations in advertising,
sports and broadcasting are numerous, including the creation of ESPN,
the concepts for “Sports Center,”
wall-to-wall coverage of NCAA regular-season and “March Madness” college basketball, and coverage of the College World Series. He broke the advertising barrier to cable
television by signing Anheuser Busch to the largest cable TV advertising
contract ever.
Named
“The Father of Cable Sports” by USA Today,
Rasmussen was named to The Sports
100, honoring the 100 most important people in American Sports History. His place in sports history was further
recognized by Sports Illustrated in
1994, when he was honored as one of the “40 for the Ages,” one of 40
individuals who has significantly altered and elevated the world of sport in
the last half of the 20th Century.
Rasmussen was named to the
2011 class of “The Champions: Pioneers & Innovators in Sports Business,” an
award from the Sports Business Journal
and the Sports Business Daily
recognizing the architects and builders of sports.
Rasmussen
is
the author of the best-selling book, “Sports
Junkies Rejoice! The Birth of ESPN” (available in paperback and e-book at
ESPNFounder.com). He is a gifted raconteur and a popular public
speaker discussing American entrepreneurship, innovation, and the birth of ESPN, and a frequent guest on radio and
television shows. His recent appearances
include nationally-syndicated radio shows “Sports
Byline USA
Thursday’s appearance at the University of
Connecticut continues Rasmussen’s 2011-2012 national speaking tour which has
included recent engagements at the University of Kansas, Rutgers University, The
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, University of South Carolina,
Wichita State University and Auburn University.
Rasmussen has also recently
spoken to audiences at a number of private, corporate events, in addition to
speaking at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, Villanova
University, Princeton University, University of Florida School of Law and The
Center for Sports Leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University, among others.