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Economics Department Working Papers

College sports

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Gender Differences In Competitive Balance In Intercollegiate Basketball, Jaret Treber, Rachel Levy, Victor Matheson Aug 2011

Gender Differences In Competitive Balance In Intercollegiate Basketball, Jaret Treber, Rachel Levy, Victor Matheson

Economics Department Working Papers

This paper adds to the literature on competitive balance in college sports by comparing men's and women's NCAA basketball. Using data from the Division I National Championships, we find evidence consistent with the idea that women’s college basketball is less competitively balanced than men’s college basketball. We argue that this difference may be explained by a theory of player ability borrowed from evolutionary biology first promulgated by paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould and subsequently utilized in Berri (2004). An implication of this idea is that competitive balance in women’s NCCA basketball will naturally improve over time. This is good news for …


Estimating Economic Impact Using Ex Post Econometric Analysis: Cautionary Tales, Robert Baumann, Victor Matheson May 2011

Estimating Economic Impact Using Ex Post Econometric Analysis: Cautionary Tales, Robert Baumann, Victor Matheson

Economics Department Working Papers

This paper provides an overview of techniques that can be used to estimate the economic impact of stadiums, events, championships, and franchises on local economies. Utilizing data from National Collegiate Athletic Association championships, this paper highlights the potential problems that can be made if city and time effects are not handled and unit-roots are not accounted for. In addition, the paper describes the technique for estimating dynamic panel data and the advantages that come with these modeling techniques.


Big Men On Campus: Estimating The Economic Impact Of College Sports On Local Economies, Robert Baade, Robert Baumann, Victor Matheson Aug 2007

Big Men On Campus: Estimating The Economic Impact Of College Sports On Local Economies, Robert Baade, Robert Baumann, Victor Matheson

Economics Department Working Papers

College football and men’s basketball are the largest revenue generators in college athletics. Studies funded by athletic boosters tout the economic benefits of a college athletic program as an incentive for host cities to construct new stadiums or arenas at considerable public expense. Our analysis of the economic impact of home football and men’s basketball games on Tallahassee (home of Florida State University) and Gainesville (home of the University of Florida) between 1980 to early-2007 fails to support these claims. Men’s basketball games at these universities have no statistically significant impact on taxable sales, while football yields a modest gain …


Down, Set, Hike: The Economic Impact Of College Football Games On Local Economies, Robert Baade, Robert Baumann, Victor Matheson Feb 2007

Down, Set, Hike: The Economic Impact Of College Football Games On Local Economies, Robert Baade, Robert Baumann, Victor Matheson

Economics Department Working Papers

This paper provides an empirical examination of the economic impact of spectator sports on local economies. Confirming the results of other ex post analyses of sports in general, this paper finds no statistically significant evidence that college football games in particular contribute positively to a host’s economy. Our analysis from 1970-2004 of 63 metropolitan areas that play host to big-time college football programs finds that neither the number of home games played, the winning percentage of the local team, nor winning a national championship has a discernable impact on either employment or personal income in the cities where the teams …


Research Note: Athletic Graduation Rates And Simpson’S Paradox, Victor Matheson Mar 2005

Research Note: Athletic Graduation Rates And Simpson’S Paradox, Victor Matheson

Economics Department Working Papers

Graduation rates for male athletes overall as well as men’s football and basketball players lag behind those of male non-athletes at Division I colleges and universities. Scholarship athletes, however, are much more likely to be drawn from racial and ethnic groups with lower average graduation rates. After accounting for differences in racial composition, graduation rates for male athletes overall as well football players match or exceed those of their peers, and racial differences account for over one-quarter of the shortfall in men’s basketball graduation rates. This is a classic example of Simpson’s Paradox.