David Letterman returns to Ball State with promise to donate talk show memorabilia

MUNCIE, Ind. – Comedian and Ball State University graduate David Letterman is donating memorabilia from his career in television to his alma mater.

Ball State President Paul Ferguson made the announcement Monday night before Letterman spoke to a sold-out crowd at Emens Auditorium with filmmakers Spike Jonze and Bennett Miller. Ferguson said Letterman plans to donate Emmy Awards, a talk-show set, props and other items to create “The David Letterman Experience” at the Muncie school.

“‘We are proud to call David Letterman one of our own, and even more so, David is proud to call Ball State home,” Ferguson said.

Letterman graduated from Ball State in 1969 and has since returned to the school for a lecture series with other celebrities. He shared the stage at Emens Auditorium with Oprah Winfrey in 2012, Rachel Maddow in 2011 and Twitter co-founder Biz Stone in 2010.

Onstage Monday, Letterman, who has grown a bushy beard, joked about how meaningful something called “The David Letterman Experience” might be.

“So you can sit at a desk and pretend to talk to an actor?” he said.

Letterman’s contributions to Ball State include scholarships, a lecture series and helping start a student-run radio station in 1986. The campus also has the David Letterman Communication and Media Building, which will house the new exhibit.

Letterman signed off in May as host of CBS’ “Late Show.” He hosted NBC’s “Late Night” from 1982 to 1993.