Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who earned his wealth from an Internet start-up company, focused on similarities between athletics directors and entrepreneurs during a keynote address to more than 2,000 administrators attending the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) convention June 11-14 in Dallas.

"You have to ask yourself what business are you in -- what's my product? What are we selling?" said Cuban, who in 1995 co-founded Broadcast.com, which became the leading Internet provider of streaming audio and video. Cuban sold the company to Yahoo in 1999, and purchased the Dallas Mavericks basketball franchise in 2000.

College athletics administrators are in the entertainment business, "the most ultra-competitive business there is," Cuban said. "Going to one of your school's games has to be the answer to 'what do you want to do tonight?' That has to define your marketing."

Urging the administrators to fight for entertainment dollars, Cuban added, "Sales cures all. Every minute of every day is selling time. Who is out there representing each program you're selling? Who is going to be out in front for you, who is going to be out there selling?"

He emphasized the importance of communication with customers.

"Any organization, in order to be successful, has to have somebody that everybody knows is in charge. Otherwise, where do they turn? They turn to alternatives," Cuban said. "Know who's out front and if it is easy to communicate with them."

Cuban acknowledged the role that college sports played in the success of Broadcast.com, noting that universities provided much of the earliest content -- when the company was known as AudioNet -- by making sports broadcasts available through the service.

"There are a lot of people in this room that I owe a big, big, big thank you to," he said.

Directors' Cups awarded

In addition to Cuban's keynote speech, NACDA's 39th annual convention featured the presentation of the annual Directors' Cups, sponsored by the United States Sports Academy and awarded to the top collegiate athletics programs in NCAA Divisions I, II and III.

Two of the three institutions honored -- Stanford University in Division I and Williams College in Division III -- are repeat winners, while Grand Valley State University claimed the honor in Division II.

Stanford extended its streak of Directors' Cup victories to 10 consecutive years, accumulating points in all 20 sports -- 10 men's and 10 women's -- included in the Division I program. The Cardinal recorded national championships in women's tennis and men's and women's cross country.

In accepting the award, Stanford Athletics Director Ted Leland said, "There is more than one winner, and we need to publicize that," noting several universities that won both men's and women's championships in several sports.

Grand Valley State University won its first Directors' Cup by scoring in six men's sports, including a national title in football, and also collecting points in all seven women's sports included in the Division II program.

"I accept this on behalf of all the coaches, staff and tremendous student-athletes at Grand Valley State," said Athletics Director Tim Selgo. "I am very proud, honored and excited to take the Directors' Cup back to the state of Michigan and Grand Valley State University."

Williams claimed its eighth Directors' Cup, scoring in eight women's and seven men's sports. The Ephs were the national runner-up in men's basketball and tennis and posted 10 other top-10 finishes.

"We don't take it (Williams' Directors' Cup winning streak) for granted at all," said Athletics Director Harry Sheehy. "I believe that some of the very best teaching on our campus takes place at 4 o'clock, practice time."

Other awards

Other convention highlights included the presentation of the James J. Corbett Memorial Award, NACDA's highest honor for athletics administration, to Vince Dooley, director of athletics at the University of Georgia.

In accepting, Dooley noted his relationship with Corbett, past athletics director at Louisiana State University and the award's namesake. Dooley became head coach at Georgia in 1964.

"I noticed his leadership in the conference, and noted and learned what he had done (in helping to establish NACDA)," Dooley said. "Intercollegiate athletics has a great value and appreciation for people helping people be successful," he added.

Also presented at the luncheon were the NACDA/NIT Athletics Directors Award to Frank Windegger, retired director of athletics at Texas Christian University; the SportsBusiness Journal Athletics Director of the Year Award to Eric Hyman, current director of athletics at TCU; and the Coca-Cola Community All-American Awards, whose recipients were reported in the June 21 issue of The NCAA News.

The John McLendon Memorial Postgraduate Scholarship Awards were presented to minority students who will pursue a postgraduate degree in athletics administration. The recipients are Roman Brown of Florida Gulf Coast University; Camensky Bryson of the University of Memphis; Adrienne Harris of Mount St. Mary's College; Marcus James of the University of Missouri, Columbia; Noel Wadawu of Florida A&M University; and Tiffany Bullard of Ohio State University.

Also, the GeneralSports TURF Systems AD of the Year Awards were presented. The program, in its sixth year, was created to highlight the efforts of athletics directors at all levels for their commitment and positive contributions to campuses and their surrounding communities.

The program honored the following 16 regional winners from NCAA institutions:

Division I-A -- Joan Cronan, University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Andy Geiger, Ohio State University; Eric Hyman, Texas Christian University; Judy MacLeod, University of Tulsa.

Division I-AA/I-AAA -- Dianne Murphy, University of Denver; Jim Murphy, Davidson College; Ron Petro, University of Rhode Island; Bruce Rasmussen, Creighton University.

Division II -- Clyde Doughty, New York Institute of Technology; Larry Holstad, Winona State University; Jane Meier, Northern Kentucky University; Ron Prettyman, California State University, Dominguez Hills.

Division III -- Bob King, Trinity University (Texas); Mike Mould, College Misericordia; Larry Schiner, New Jersey City University; Chad Yowell, Wheaton College (Massachesetts).

Directors' Cup standings

Final standings in the Divisions I, II and III United States Sports Academy Directors' Cups, presented annually by NACDA:

Division I

1. Stanford -- 1,337.25

2. Michigan -- 1,226.25

3. UCLA -- 1,178.75

4. Ohio State -- 1,026.5

5. Georgia -- 1,005.25

6. Florida -- 993.25

7. North Carolina -- 925

8. Washington -- 919.5

9. California -- 899.5

10. Texas -- 880.25

11. LSU -- 867.75

12. Arizona -- 799.5

13. Penn State -- 795.5

14. Tennessee -- 755.75

15. Oklahoma -- 728.75

16. Texas A&M -- 714

17. Arizona State -- 708

18. Duke -- 706.5

19. Notre Dame -- 705

20. Minnesota -- 687

21. Southern California -- 683.5

22. Florida State -- 623

23. Auburn -- 616.75

24. Maryland -- 599

25. Illinois -- 597

Division II

1. Grand Valley State -- 810

2. UC San Diego -- 663

3. Truman -- 603

4. North Dakota -- 574.5

5. Cal State Chico -- 574

6. Rollins -- 570

7. Cal State Bakersfield -- 503

8. North Dakota State -- 498.5

9. South Dakota State -- 474.5

10. Northern Kentucky -- 472.5

11. South Dakota -- 452.5

11. St. Cloud State -- 452.5

13. Adams State -- 444

14. Indianapolis -- 440

15. Abilene Christian -- 438.5

16. Nebraska-Omaha -- 436.5

17. Drury -- 432

18. Western State -- 431.75

19. Kennesaw State -- 430.5

20. Minnesota State Mankato -- 415

21. North Florida -- 412

22. Central Missouri State -- 410.5

23. Nebraska-Kearney -- 402.5

24. Bryant -- 399.25

25. Barry -- 387

Division III

1. Williams -- 1081.75

2. Emory -- 811

3. Middlebury -- 779.5

4. New Jersey -- 751

5. Wisconsin-Stevens Point -- 730

6. Amherst -- 686.75

7. Wisconsin-La Crosse -- 640

8. Cortland State -- 627.5

9. Washington (Missouri) -- 610.5

10. Gustavus Adolphus -- 583

11. Ithaca -- 553.5

12. Salisbury -- 537

13. Wartburg -- 504.25

14. Trinity (Texas) -- 492

15. Wisconsin-Oshkosh -- 480.75

16. Johns Hopkins -- 469.5

17. Wheaton (Massachusetts) -- 458.75

18. New York University -- 435.5

19. Washington and Lee -- 421

20. Bowdoin -- 416.5

21. Wheaton (Illinois) -- 390

22. Denison -- 383

23. Calvin -- 382.5

24. Chicago -- 377

25. Wisconsin-Whitewater -- 374.25