Enberg to address 'goodness' tomorrow

It's been three years since distinguished alumnus Dick Enberg has stepped foot onto Bloomington's campus. \nTomorrow, he'll address and attempt to inspire IU's outgoing seniors in two separate commencement addresses at 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., both of which are in Assembly Hall.\nIn his address entitled "A dare to be great is a dare to be good," Enberg will share his vast life experiences with the graduates.\n"My feeling is that the essential ingredient for greatness is goodness," said Enberg. "I just do not think great people can be bad."\nEnberg's last visit to Bloomington was in 1999, when Enberg was honored with the dedication of the Dick Enberg studio, a state-of-the-art broadcasting studio, in the school of Health, Physical Education and Recreation.\n"I wanted to desperately give something back to the University for what they've given me," said Enberg.\nA Michigan native, Enberg came to IU in 1957 to earn his masters and doctorate degrees in health education. Enberg to share advice with graduates.\n"My roots are very humble," he said. "I had no expectations. \nThis nobody did get a chance to be a somebody."\nPrior to IU, he received his undergraduate degree at Central Michigan University, where he first became involved with broadcasting. \n"There was an opening for a janitor," recalled Enberg. The job, which only paid $1 an hour, was in the University's broadcasting studio. \nOne of the people who worked in the studio needed someone to read a five minute news story, so he asked Enberg to fill in. \nA few weeks later, Enberg received a phone call from the studio, telling him that he got the job as their new weekend disc jockey, still only paying $1 an hour. \nAfter Central Michigan, Enberg arrived at IU, where he met up with Tony Mobley, the current dean of HPER.\n"He came to IU before I did," said Mobley. "Then I came in '60. That's when we first met."\nBeing graduate students in the HPER together, Mobley and Enberg became close, keeping in touch for the last 42 years.\n"What most people don't know about him in the popular press, because they know him as a sportscaster, is his academic career, because he was a very good student," said Mobley.\nMobley recalled a doctoral student of an upper-level statistics class becoming ill and Enberg helping to substitute.\n"He picked up the course and taught it," said Mobley.\nWhile Enberg was studying health education at IU, he became friends with Dick Yoakam, a journalism professor at the time and the advisor of the IU radio sports network. \nMobley recalls Enberg's audition for the network.\n"Some of them came in and read pieces and some of them did imitation games," he said. When Enberg's turn came up, "...it was over. Everybody else just left. Everybody knew who his selection was going to be."\nAfter receiving the job, Enberg called the first ever play-by-play of an IU football game.\nAfter graduating from IU, Enberg became an assistant professor and an assistant baseball coach at California State University Northridge. \n"He basically wanted to be a professor, was a professor at Cal. State, and he feels like he's still teaching about a sporting event," said Mobley. "It's just a larger classroom as he says."\n"I feel my broadcasts can be an educational experience," said Enberg. "My teaching experience is my strongest ally at broadcasting." \nSince his academic days, Enberg has worked for NBC-TV and is currently with CBS-TV. He has also broadcasted such events as the Superbowl, the Rose Bowl, Wimbledon, the NBA playoffs, and the U.S. Open Golf Championships. He has also won 13 Emmys, one of which is on display in the Enberg studio, and is the only person to ever win an Emmy as a writer, producer and sportscaster.\n"His experiences here have really enabled him to achieve a level of distinction in his field," said vice-president Bill Stephan. "What he brings is probably more than 40 years of real world experience in his career that certainly would be beneficial to students at commencement as they embark on their own careers."\nToday, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Enberg will attend a book signing at the Indiana Memorial Union Bookstore where he will autograph "Humorous Quotes for all Occasions," a book of speaking tips and one-liners.\n"It's just a terrific book for someone, a table book that you read occasionally," said Enberg.