NCAA Sanctions and Economic Impact

TSE readers know that we here at TSE roll our eyes at economic impact claims regarding sports and economic development.   So when I saw that the governor of Pennsylvania was filing suit against the NCAA regarding the sanctions handed down on Penn State, I raised an eyebrow Spock-wise. The projected loss to the state's economy combined with the hit to Penn State's prestige are the basis for Gov.  Tom Corbett's lawsuit to have the sanctions, including a $60 million fine and a four-year ban from lucrative postseason bowl games, thrown out. Legal and strategic questions notwithstanding, we're talking about an […]

Cubsidies: The Cubbies Want in on the Subsidy Action

The ownership of the Chicago cubs want to restore Wrigley Field and, surprise, surprise, surprise, they want public funding.  Here's Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune: The round figure being thrown around for Wrigley updating is $500 million, with $300 million going to the ballpark itself and $200 million going to the long-proposed "triangle building'' adjacent to the park. It has been reported that the team will construct the building itself but would like about $150 million in public funding to help pay for the ballpark improvements. Here's what Rogers has to say on the subject of economic impact: You […]

Ice Hockey Success in the Sun Belt

A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by John Miller about a story he was writing on the Phoenix Coyotes. As readers of EZDzine are well aware, evidence that sports franchises and stadium and arena construction generate large impetus to economic growth and urban development exists only in the minds and reports of consultants to sport franchises and their rent-seeking employers. Subsidies for such activities is especially troubling when city and state budgets are in disarray with service reductions and layoffs of public employees from teachers to police and firefighters. Miller's story, Taxpayers take the puck, describes […]

Harsh Punishments, but No Death Penalty, for Penn State

The NCAA has hit Penn State with harsh penalties as punishment for the Jerry Sandusky case.  Penn State is put on probation for 5 years, is banned from bowl games for 4, loses numerous scholarships, is fined $60 million, and has the dreaded "vacating wins" penalty imposed on it (for the period 1998-2011).  It's players are allowed to transfer without penalty, which is also a penalty for Penn State football because it makes it easier for players to leave. No doubt about it, these are harsh penalties, and they seem appropriate to me.   There's no death penalty because of […]

Baltimore Grand Prix Update - 2012 edition

Over a year ago I posted about the agreement between the City of Baltimore and Baltimore Racing Development that brought Grand Prix racing to Baltimore. The event has come and gone, it was held Labor Day weekend, but the real excitement for a sports economist's point of view has all been post race. Because of the claimed benefits to the city, and because the event was in my backyard, Michael Friedman, from the University of Maryland, College Park sport management program, and I developed a survey that was then administered outside the gates at the Grand Prix. We asked basic […]

McFadden Finds His Match

Yahoo! Sports' Michael Silver chronicles the emergence of Darren McFadden into the elite of NFL running backs over the past two seasons.  While his  success might seem highly probable given his 4th overall selection in the 2008 draft, McFadden's numbers looked more like a bust after two seasons.    This SF Examiner piece before his breakout 2010 season represents an entire genre on "McFadden is a bust." Mike Mayock was nearly the only draft guru who was not high on McFadden. His scouting report was that McFadden had issues with fumbles, had dead legs when hit, lacked a top end […]

Luck vs. Skill

In his recent Moneyball post, Skip alluded to the “Fire Joe Morgan” blog, website dedicated to pointing out silly commentary from sports journalists. In homage to this sadly departed blog, I point out this commentary from Don Banks at Sports Illustrated today. No way, no how would the Buffalo Bills have ever won this game last season. But because of last season, when the heartbreaking, narrow loss was the Bills' specialty, Buffalo learned the kind of resiliency in the face of adversity that proved to be essential to its corner-turning 34-31 comeback win over New England Sunday at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Essentially, Banks […]

AFL-AFLPA CBA negotiations drag on as Grand Final approaches

As key trigger dates for unilateral termination approach, the most recent round of offers in the collective bargaining negotiations between the Australian Football League (AFL) and the AFL Players’ Association (AFLPA) have not yet led to an agreement. The AFL made a substantial ‘final offer’ of AU$1.144 billion in late August, giving the AFLPA until 15 September to respond.  This offer included annual total player payment growth of 11, 5, 3, 3 and 3 per cent, to deliver an average salary of $301,000 in 2016.  The AFLPA rejected the offer, countering with a three-year proposal including annual pay increases of […]

What Makes a College Coach Overpaid?

From the Bleacher Report, we have a list of 20 coaches who are supposedly being paid too much. College football coaches make incredible amounts of money in today's football-obsessed society. Schools want wins and they want a lot of them. They want conference championships and national championships. And they're willing to pay for them. According to a study conducted by USA TODAY, at least two-dozen head coaches made more than $2 million in 2010. Doesn't that seem ridiculous? There is no doubt that these men work extremely hard in an excruciatingly competitive field, but many are overpaid. Here are the 20 most-overpaid […]

Football and University Priorities

At Northeastern, a private university in Boston, the college football model wasn't working very well.  Expenses averaged $3.5 million, and attendance was just 1,600 fans per game from a student body of over 20,000.  After a two year review of the athletic department, the decision was made to drop the sport.  Shira Springer describes the fallout in two articles in today's Boston Globe.  One focuses on the institution at large, the other on the players, many of whom transferred.  The negative fallout appears to be modest.  Those with ties to the program are understandably upset with the institution's change in priorities.  But as Springer […]

The Most Interesting College Football Offseason Ever?

As a long time college football fan, the past few months have to be the most interesting off season I can remember.  Here are a few of the highlights (or maybe lowlights, depending on your perspective) The conference realignment mess, simmering since the Big 10 announced it was "studying" expansion has gone from simmer to full boil.  At this point, the situation resembles the beginning of World War I, where the assassination of Habsburg heir-apparent Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo (the Big 10 "expansion study" announcement) led Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia (Colorado to the PAC 10), bringing Russia […]

Season Ticket Prices and Minimum Donations at FBS Schools

Rivals has collected football season ticket prices and minimum donations at the 120 FBS schools for the 2010 season.  The donations work like NFL personal seat licenses.  Programs realize there is "money on the table" since some fans place a higher value on attendance at home games than what it costs to get season tickets.  So schools charge a fee to capture some of that value in order to generate maximum revenue. There's not a lot of surprising things in there, at least to this economist.  Ohio State tops the list with a minimum donation of $1,500 - you could […]