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While he's most notably known as being the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, as well as a part of Shark Tank and a highly successful businessman, Mark Cuban actually earned his B.S. in Business Administration from Indiana University (interestingly enough, he based the decision solely on the fact that tuition was the cheapest at IU when it came to the schools he was considering).
Why did I start off today's countdown piece discussing former Hoosier alum Mark Cuban? Well, in case you missed it, the former Hoosier donated $5 million to the school this summer to help establish and launch the Mark Cuban Center for Sports Media and Technology. The center will provide plenty of cutting edge technology related to sports media, and it should help Indiana be one of the leaders in 3-D broadcasting, virtual reality and a number of other growing technologies.
So flash forward to October when the school made the following announcement on social media:
#HoosierHysteria: the first collegiate sporting event EVER streamed in virtual reality - https://t.co/Av4ne9c3nF pic.twitter.com/5Mvt6r1KKf
— Indiana Basketball (@IndianaMBB) October 22, 2015
The event, which will be the first collegiate sporting event to be live streamed in virtual reality, is the end result of the Mark Cuban Center for Sports Media and Technology. Thanks to Dallas based company BigLook360, the event will be streamed live for Hoosier fans. Basically, Indiana fans can put on VR headsets that will be set up in the lobby of Assembly Hall. The headsets will then create a virtual experience that will make it feel like the fan is actually standing on the court during the event, creating a level of immersion that wouldn't be possible even if the fan was sitting in their seat at Assembly Hall.
"We have the best and most knowledgeable basketball fans in the country and we are thrilled that we will be able to bring them the experience of one of our signature events in virtual reality," mentioned Associate AD Jeremy Gray. "Fans will be able to experience what it is like to have Troy Williams fly over you for a dunk, how quick Yogi Ferrell is off the dribble, and what it is like to watch the action courtside. This is the future of fan experience."
The event will be another entry into a growing resume for BigLook360, who have also held VR live streaming events for a number of events, including the Emmy's, Grammy's and the demolition of Texas Stadium.
Indiana's Hoosier Hysteria event will take place this Saturday at 6:30 p.m. and will be free of charge. If you're not in the area and still want to see the event, BTN Plus will be streaming it online (unfortunately, not in virtual reality though).