Editor's Note: The original story said the Board of Trustees had not yet made their decision to enter the auction, but were still in discussion. This was inaccurate, and the story has been updated.
Ball State University has made the decision to proceed with the process of auctioning its WIPB station, possibly for more than $277 million. The Board of Trustees authorized this decision at their meeting on March 14.
The auction, known as the Federal Communications Commission Broadcast Incentive Auction, allows the university to drop out at anytime, if it chooses to do so.
At the meeting, Phil Repp, the vice president of information technology, said that the ultimate decision will have the university's best interest in mind.
"We're looking at what the best direction is – the best interest of the university and the best interest of public media for the university," Repp said.
The Federal Communications Commission is allowing the auction, which would give 600 MHz of spectrum — the wireless signals — to those who need it.
The spectrum would be taken from the WIPB-TV station, which is a Public Broadcasting Service affiliate, licensed to Ball State. According to bsu.edu, it serves 664,000 households in a 22-county region. WIPB-TV is hosted in the Ball Communication Building.
Repp said that the pros and cons of auctioning the station are still being discussed. The auction itself will be months long and Repp said that the university will still have plenty of time to make considerations on whether or not to sell during that time.
In an email, Repp said he cannot speculate on potential outcomes of the auction at this time to comply with the FCC's anti-collusion rule.
But Repp said what he thinks is most important to both him and members of the board of trustees is not harming the academic programs that utilize the facility that's a part of WIPB.
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