Late Night Legacy: Ball State’s Letterman Reacts to Colbert Curtain Call

David Letterman poses for a photo with Charlie Cardinal Feb. 9 in the Robert Bell Building at Ball State University. Letterman visited campus to celebrate the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Esports partnership. Eli Houser, DN
David Letterman poses for a photo with Charlie Cardinal Feb. 9 in the Robert Bell Building at Ball State University. Letterman visited campus to celebrate the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Esports partnership. Eli Houser, DN

Ball State alumnus and late-night icon David Letterman has finally weighed in on the cancellation of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," by doing it in a way only Letterman would.

On July 21, Letterman’s official YouTube channel uploaded a compilation of throwback clips from his run on "The Late Show," with footage dating back to the mid-1990s. The clips all had one thing in common: subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle jabs at CBS, the network behind the show.

The video’s caption didn’t hold back either: “You can’t spell CBS without BS.”

While the video doesn’t directly mention Colbert or the show's upcoming end, the timing speaks volumes. Just a few days earlier, on July 17, CBS announced that The Late Show would wrap up after its 11th season in May 2026. That marks the end of the franchise after a 33-year run, which started with Letterman.

“It’s not just the end of our show, but it’s the end of The Late Show on CBS,” Colbert told viewers during that night’s episode. “I’m not being replaced—this is all just going away.”

CBS said the decision was a financial one and emphasized that it had “nothing to do with the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount,” referencing the company’s ongoing restructuring amid an $8 billion merger with Skydance Media.

For Letterman, the cancellation likely hits close to home. He helped launch "The Late Show on CBS" in 1993 after a successful run with NBC’s "Late Night". For years, his version of The Late Show was a major force in late-night television, at one point even beating Jay Leno’s "Tonight Show" in the ratings a feat that was impressive at the time.

The Late Show itself is also a part of Ball State. In 2015, Letterman shared more than 1,000 pieces of Late Show memorabilia with the university. The collection includes physical artifacts and digital content from his personal life and career as one of the country’s most famous late night talk show hosts.

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Letterman hosted The Late Show for over two decades before stepping away in 2015, with Colbert taking the reins after him.

The icon got his start as a student announcer at WBST, the campus radio station at BSU that eventually became part of Indiana Public Radio. His legacy lives on at the university through the David Letterman Distinguished Professional Lecture and Workshop Series, which has brought major media figures like Oprah Winfrey, Rachel Maddow, and Spike Jonze to campus.

Letterman’s impact on Ball State is also cemented in brick and mortar: The David Letterman Communication and Media Building, named in his honor, is home to the College of Communication, Information, and Media.

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