Red and white confetti fell and the thunderous tones of Ball State University's fight song played Friday afternoon as David Letterman cut the ribbon outside the building carrying his name.
An estimated crowd of about 5,000 gathered outside the David Letterman Communication and Media Building to watch the event, said Tony Proudfoot, associate vice president for Marketing and Communications.
Letterman, a 1970 Ball State graduate and long-time donor to the university, expressed great humility at receiving the honor and entertained his audience with the zany wit that has propelled him to success as the host of CBS' "Late Show."
"I can't tell you how thrilled I am to be on the Ball State University campus today," Letterman told the cheering crowd that stretched out to Shafer Tower and down McKinley Avenue. "If I had any way of knowing this was going to happen, I would have studied much harder."
Letterman is recognized in the telecommunications department for the David Letterman Scholarship, which awards three TCOM students per semester $10.000, $5,000 and $3,333, respectively. The award is not based on grade point average but on a creative project submitted by the student.
"I struggled through college," Letterman said. " I graduated - barely - with a 2.0 grade point average. If reasonable people could put my name on a $21 million building, anything is possible."
Varying amounts of drizzle fell intermittently throughout the ceremony, forcing many crowd members to make use of their umbrellas.
While President Jo Ann Gora opted to truncate her speaking section of the presentation in an attempt to end the ceremony before more rain fell, Letterman gave his entire prepared speech, which included a Top Ten List, a staple of Letterman's show.
"I will not be eliminating my comments. Screw the weather," he said.
During his speech, Letterman extended his thanks to the Ball State administrators who helped coordinate his visit to campus - especially Gora.
"I'll tell you two things about President Gora," Letterman said. "You are lucky to have this woman as your representative of this great university - and she also has tremendous legs.
Student Government Association President Betsy Mills said Letterman's visit made for "one of the biggest days Ball State has had in decades."
"The crowd is amazing," Mills said, "and everyone is excited to have [Letterman] back."
Letterman last visited campus in 1979, when he spoke and performed during Homecoming ceremonies.
"[Letterman's visit] brings a lot of attention to Ball State and the Muncie community," Muncie Mayor Dan Canan, who was present for the ceremony, said. "There's been a lot of buzz in the community that someone as big as David Letterman has come back."
Student media organizations were "showing their best face" Friday for Letterman's return to campus, said John Dailey, assistant professor of interactive media.
While Dailey said he was pleased and excited for the events of the day, he said Letterman's private nature makes public events like the dedication stressful.
"This is more stressful than work," Dailey said. "But he's doing this to thank us."
However, some students weren't as enthusiastic as Dailey about Letterman's return.
Senior Architecture major Katie Marinaro said while she envied the equipment in the new building, she thought there was too much hype surrounding the event. Letterman's visit was long overdue, Marinaro said, adding that was disappointed that the university had to name a building after him in order to bring him back to campus.
Sophomore Education major Spain Cosby said he is impressed with the building and was excited that Letterman was coming back to campus.
"It's good to have a famous [alumnus] on campus," Cosby said. "It's good to know they still care about where they came from."
Keynote speaker Jeffrey Smulyan, chairperson of Emmis Communications Corporation, stressed the importance of media adapting their strategies to fit a changing world while producing content that's important to a global audience.
"The world Dave and I grew up in was vastly different than it is today," Smulyan said.
Letterman, in a question-and-answer session with communications students, described himself as a "dinosaur" of TV humor and said that comedy acts such as himself will likely find success on the Internet and through other new media.
"The future of communications is inside this building," he said. "I am old media. I've done about as much as I can do. It's all up to everybody else, and I'm so proud to be a part of that."
Letterman, who has won 16 Emmy Awards, credited Ball State for helping foster his creativity.
"The people who are lucky enough to teach and learn on this campus are truly blessed," he told the crowd at the end of his speech. "Enjoy your careers at Ball State. When you're out looking for careers, come find me because I'll be ready to go. Go Cards."
Top Ten Good Things About Having Your Name on a Building
10. Forget your name? Just check the building.
9. On weekends, maintenance crew lets you ride on the floor buffer.
8. By law, they have to let you use the restroom.
7. It's a lot better than having your name on a lame talk show.
6. I'll always have a place to crash after a night at The Locker Room.
5. Great way to show up that jerk down the street with that vanity license plate.
4. When people say Letterman is cold and empty, they might be talking about the building.
3. Fun to see the security guard do a double take when he checks your ID.
2. Cool to hear exterminator say, 'Letterman's crawling with rats'
1. Unlike me, it should still look good when it's 60.
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