Mark Cuban Donates $25,000 To Support Rugby Sevens

MARK CUBAN TO MAKE $25,000 CHARITABLE DONATION TO THE USA 7’s Rugby Collegiate Championship Invitational

Former Collegiate Rugby Player Cuban Lends His Support to Inaugural

16-Team Tournament

COLUMBUS, OHIO - May 4, 2010 - Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and chairman of HD Net, announced today that he will make a $25,000 program contribution to the inaugural USA 7’s Rugby Collegiate Championship taking place at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio from June 4-6, 2010. This first-ever tournament will feature 16 historically significant collegiate rugby teams in a preview of the talent pool for the 2016 U.S. Olympic team.

“I played rugby at Indiana and it has always been one of my passions,” said Mark Cuban. “Between the inception of this USA 7’s Rugby Collegiate Championship Invitational and the reintroduction of Rugby 7’s as an Olympic sport for the first time in over 85 years, it’s an important time for us Rugby supporters to help build on the momentum and I’m honored to do it.”

Cuban’s program contribution will include $20,000 to the winning team of the USA 7’s Rugby Collegiate Championship Invitational and $5,000 will go towards supporting the Ohio Classic Sevens, which features high-school-aged competitors who are the future of the sport. The money is intended to support the operations of the rugby teams and their student athletes.

“Mark Cuban is a great friend to the sport of rugby and his support has helped us get to where we are,” said Dan Lyle, Tournament Director USA 7’s Rugby. “We are so thrilled to have Mark in our corner as we to take Rugby 7’s to the next level.”

“James Naismith invented basketball to give him something to do in between rugby seasons and with the similar focuses on teamwork, speed and strategy between rugby and basketball, it’s no surprise I am similarly passionate about the two sports,” Cuban continued.

Rugby Sevens features seven players per team playing on the same size pitch as a 15’s match and offers non-stop action where speed, high scoring and athleticism rule the day. The Invitational will be broadcast live on NBC on Saturday and Sunday, June 5-6 from 4-6 p.m. ET and Universal Sports on Saturday and Sunday from 2-4 p.m. ET.

The USA 7’s Rugby Collegiate Championship Invitational features 16 Division I collegiate traditional powers, including the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, Army, Bowling Green, University of California at Berkeley, Dartmouth, University of Florida,

Harvard, Indiana University, Navy, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, San Diego State, University of Tennessee, and the University of Utah.