New IU Health Bloomington Regional Academic Health Center to include dentistry school

That was one of two major announcements IU President Michael McRobbie made Tuesday during the groundbreaking ceremony for the IU Health Bloomington Regional Academic Health Center. The other announcement: Money from IU’s Big Ten Network media rights agreement will be the main funding source for the academic portion of the health center.

The estimated cost of the entire facility is about $400 million, and IU will be responsible for the $45 million academic portion. It’s unclear exactly how much of that will be paid for with money from the media rights agreement, which encompasses all media contracts for the Big Ten Conference.

In the early planning stages, IU officials decided university funds would be used instead of money sought from state government coffers. The term “university funds” includes money from all of IU’s revenue sources, from philanthropy to research. Big Ten media rights money will be a significant funding source for the academic portion of the building, but the specific percentage has not been determined.