Ilitch calls WSU biz school 'biggest deal of my life'
A new Wayne State University business school named after Mike Ilitch was approved by its governing board Friday, a feat the billionaire says he regards as “the biggest deal of my life.” The state-of-the-art facility will be constructed in the heart of the new Detroit Red Wings arena and its surrounding 45-block entertainment district. A $40 million gift from the Ilitch family, approved by the Wayne State University Board of Governors, is the largest in the university’s history and one of the top 10 gifts in the country ever given to a public business school. It will fund the bulk of a $50 million project to construct the new school. “It’s really the thrill of my life. I really do love the city so much. To see my name on that building, I feel like life is starting all over again,” Ilitch told reporters in a rare interview on Friday. “It’s a big deal. It’s probably the biggest deal in my life.”
