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MARK CUBAN
Chairman, HDNet / Owner, Dallas Mavericks
When Mark Cuban purchased the Dallas Mavericks on January 14, 2000, the face of the organization began to change immediately. Once again Mavericks games had a party atmosphere as Reunion Arena rocked with the return of the "Reunion Rowdies." Mavericks games became more than just ordinary NBA games - they were a total entertainment experience.
Cuban was not only successful at instilling a sense of pride and passion into Mavericks fans by presenting himself as the ultimate role model by cheering from the same seats he had in years past, but he also became the first owner in team sports to encourage fan interaction through e-mail on his personal computer. It was through this personal touch that fans throughout the Metroplex, and around the world, began to notice Cuban's energetic personality and take notice of the Mavericks. He has personally responded to thousands of emails, and several suggestions from fans have led to innovative changes such as a new three-sided shot clock, which allows line of site to the 24-second clock from anywhere in the arena.
Cuban's whatever-it-takes attitude and commitment to winning has everyone's attention. From his first introduction to the team to the end of his first season as owner, the players responded with a 31-19 record, including a 9-1 mark in April 2000. In addition to hiring special coaches for offense, defense and shooting, Cuban has promised to do everything in his power to improve the team. This goal was achieved as the club finished the 2000-01 season with a 53-29 record en route to their first playoff appearance in 11 years where they became just the sixth team in NBA history to be down 0-2 and come back to win a five-game series vs. Utah in Round 1.
Before the start of the 2001-02 season, American Airlines Center, the Mavs new home, opened and Cuban co-founded HDNet, an all high-definition television network on DIRECTV channel 199 which launched in September 2001. As with his other ventures, Cuban is revolutionizing the television industry with HDNet. He is planning to expand HDNet to include three more networks showing high-def sports, movies and entertainment by the end of 2002.
During the Mavs 2001-02 campaign, the team continued their winning ways by finishing the season with a franchise-best record of 57-25 and an NBA-best road record of 27-14, advancing to the postseason for the second-consecutive year.
Prior to his purchase of the Mavericks, Cuban co-founded Broadcast.com, the leading provider of multimedia and streaming on the Internet, in 1995, selling it to Yahoo! in July of 1999. Before Broadcast.com, Cuban co-founded MicroSolutions, a leading National Systems Integrator, in 1983, and later sold it to CompuServe.
Today, in addition to his ownership of the Mavericks, Cuban is an active investor in leading and cutting-edge technologies and continues to be a sought-after speaker.
