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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
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 …
Anomalies In Tournament Design: The Madness Of March Madness, Robert Baumann, Victor Matheson, Cara Howe
Anomalies In Tournament Design: The Madness Of March Madness, Robert Baumann, Victor Matheson, Cara Howe
Economics Department Working Papers
Tournament design is of crucial importance in competitive sports. The primary goal of effective tournament design is to provide incentives for the participants to maximize their performance both during the tournament and in the time period leading up to the tournament. In spectator sports, a secondary goal of tournament design is to also promote interesting match ups that generate fan interest. Seeded tournaments, in general, promote both goals. Teams or individuals with strong performances leading up to a tournament receive higher seeds which increase their chances of progressing further in the tournament. Furthermore, seeding ensures that the strongest teams or …
Big Men On Campus: Estimating The Economic Impact Of College Sports On Local Economies, Robert Baade, Robert Baumann, Victor Matheson
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 …