Week 7: Readings on the Income and Expenses of College Athletics


[Read the required items [⇒], and any other two items of interest in this list]


⇒ Lombardi, et al. The Sports Imperative in America's Research Universities (University of Florida, 2003).

⇒Frank Hodge and Lloyd Tanlu. "Finances and College Athletics," New Directions for Institutional Research (2009).

⇒Welch Suggs. "Old Challenges and New Opportunities for Studying the Financial Aspects of Intercollegiate Athletics," New Directions for Institutional Research (2009).

• Howard J. Savage, et. al. "The Coach in College Athletics," American College Athletics (New York: Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 1929) p. 161-189.


• Eddie Yost. "What Athletics Mean to Me," Journal of Educational Sociology (1955)


• Francis T. Cullen, Edward J. Latessa, and Joseph P. Byrne. "Scandal and Reform in Collegiate Athletics: Implications from a National Survey of Head Football Coaches," Journal of Higher Education (1990).


• Ronald A. Smith, ed. "The Preliminary Season, Big-Time Football at Harvard," The Diary of Coach Bill Reid (Urbana: University of Illinois, 1994) pp. 1-20.


• Nike-University of Florida Contract (1999).


• "Legal Hoops," The Wall Street Journal, July 21, 2000.


• Welch Suggs. "Abandoning Major Sponsorship Deal, Nike Plays Hardball Over Sweatshops," The Chronicle of Higher Education, May 12, 2000.


• Welch Suggs. "Football's Have-Nots Contemplate Their Place in the NCAA," The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 30, 2000.


• Welch Suggs. "Revenues and Expenses Continue to Rise for Athletics Departments, NCAA Finds," The Chronicle of Higher Education, November 7, 2000.


• Lawrence M. Kahn. "The Sports Business as a Labor Market Laboratory," The Journal of Economic Perspectives (2000).


• Joe Drape. "B.C.S. Formula Works Just Fine," The New York Times, December 11, 2001.


• Welch Suggs. "The Struggle to Stay Competitive in a Big-Time Conference. " The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 22, 2001.


• Martin Van der Werf. "Anti-Sweatshop Groups Find It Difficult to Turn Campus Idealism Into Real Change," The Chronicle of Higher Education, January 5, 2001.


• Goldie Blumenstyk. "U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Nike Agree on $28-Million Deal With Anti-Sweatshop Clause," The Chronicle of Higher Education, October 17, 2001.


• Welch Suggs. "Female Athletes Thrive, but Budget Pressures Loom," The Chronicle of Higher Education, May 18, 2001.


• William H. Honan. "Do Big-Money Sports Belong in College?" Education Life, New York Times, January 7, 2001.


• Jennifer Jacobson. "Female Coaches Lag in Pay and Opportunities to Oversee Men's Teams," The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 8, 2001.


• Welch Suggs. "Minnesota's Golden Gophers Face a Financial Hole," The Chronicle of Higher Education, February 7, 2002.


• Current and Future Financial Challenges in Intercollegiate Athletics, University of Minnesota, 2002.


• Welch Suggs. "How Gears Turn at a Sports Factory," The Chronicle of Higher Education, November 25, 2002.


• Michael Sokolove. "Football Is a Sucker's Game," The New York Times, December 22, 2002.


• Jennifer Lee. "College Football Ticket Prices: Schools' Strategies All over the Field," Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Journal, September 23-29, 2002.


• Jennifer Jacobson. "The Perks of Coaching," The Chronicle of Higher Education, November 24, 2003.


• William C. Rhoden. "At Conference Tournaments, the Colleges Major in Money," The New York Times, March 15, 2003


• Welch Suggs. "In Football, the Have-Nots Clash With the Haves," The Chronicle of Higher Education, September 5, 2003.


• Richard Sandomir. "College Bowl Scene Is Flush With Corporate Dollars," The New York Times, December 28, 2004.


• Welch Suggs. "At Some Colleges, Students Tax Themselves to Pay for Sports. " The Chronicle of Higher Education, April 30, 2004.


• Intercollegiate Athletics at Rice University, 2004.


• Welch Suggs. "Rice U. Considers Major Changes in Athletics as Report Identifies Host of Problems," The Chronicle of Higher Education, May 6, 2004.


• Determining a Champion on the Field: A Comprehensive Review of the BCS and Postseason College Football, US Congress, 2005.


• John V. Lombardi. "The Enemy Is Us: Cost Reduction in College Sports," Inside Higher Ed--Reality Check (2005).


• Brian Steinberg. "Marketing Madness. As the TV Audience Shrinks, Ad Spending for the Big Game Climbs," The [Wall Street] Journal Report: NCAA Basketball Tournament, March 14, 2005.


• Selena Roberts. "Big Boosters Calling the Shots on Campus," The New York Times, January 2, 2005.


• "College Sports Try to Fend Off Blitz From Economy," Associated Press--New York Times, November 15, 2008.


• Joe Drape and Thayer Evans. "Financial Straits of Boosters Hit Athletic Programs," New York Times, October 21, 2008.


• Katie Thomas. "Rising Criticism as Rutgers Invests in Athletics," The New York Times, October 18, 2008.


• Peter Applebome. "Lure of Big-Time Sports Propels Rutgers," The New York Times, October 19, 2008.


• Robert A. Baade, Robert W. Baumann and Victor A. Matheson. "Assessing the Economic Impact of College Football Games on Local Economies," Journal of Sports Economics (2008).


• James L. Swofford, Franklin G. Mixon, and Trellis G. Green. "Can a Sub-Optimal Tournament Be Optimal when the Prize Can Be Collectively Consumed? The Case of College Football's National Championship," Applied Economics (2009).


• Itay Fainmesser, Chaim Fershtman, and Neil Gandal. "A Consistent Weighted Ranking Scheme With an Application to NCAA College Football Rankings," Journal of Sports Economics (2009).


• Kevin O'Malley. "Few Are Cheerleading for a College Football Playoff," The New York Times, September 6, 2009.


• Stephen Finn. "In Defense of the Playoff System," Journal of the Philosophy of Sport, (36: 66-75, 2009)


• Jason A. Martin. "When It Comes to Headlines, Winning Really is Everything," Newspaper Research Journal (30:4, 2009).


• Libby Sander. "Athletics Programs Scramble to Streamline Budgets in Difficult Times," The Chronicle of Higher Education, January 30, 2009.


• David Moltz. "No Money, No Problems?" Inside Higher Ed, May 29, 2009.


• "Fund Raising for Athletics in 6 Major Conferences," The Chronicle of Higher Education, January 23, 2009.


• Brad Wolverton, Marisa López-Rivera and Ashley C. Killough. "A Powerful League Piles Up Its Advantages," The Chronicle of Higher Education,September 4, 2009.


• Doug Lederman. "Bad Time for Sports Overspending [Berkeley]," Inside Higher Ed, October 30, 2009.


• Brad Wolverton. "For Athletics, a Billion-Dollar Goal Line," The Chronicle of Higher Education, January 23, 2009.


• Josh Keller. "For Berkeley's Sports Endowment, a Goal of $1-Billion," The Chronicle of Higher Education, January 23, 2009.


• Libby Sander. "Recession Clouds Future of Stanford's Storied Sports," The Chronicle of Higher Education, November 13, 2009.


• Jere Longman. "As Costs of Sports Rise, Students Balk at Fees," The New York Times, May 29, 2009.


• Welch Suggs. "Making Money--or Not--on College Sports," New Directions for Institutional Research (2009).


• Michael McCann. "BCS May be Unpopular, but It's Unlikely to be Deemed Illegal," Sports Illustrated, December 9, 2010.


• William C. Rhoden. "Business of Game Quells Thrill [Basketball]," The New York Times, March 21, 2010.


• Brad Wolverton. "NCAA Agrees to $10.8-Billion Deal to Broadcast Its Men's Basketball Tournament," The Chronicle of Higher Education, April 22, 2010.


• "Report of the Chancellor's Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics [Berkeley]," July 6, 2010.


• "2-Year College to Reinstate Teams," Inside Higher Ed, July 8, 2010.


• David Moltz. "Seething Over Sports Subsidies," Inside Higher Ed, May 20, 2010.


• Michael A. McCann. "Antitrust, Governance, and Postseason College Football," Boston College Law Review (52:517, 2011).


• Report of the President's Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, University of Maryland, College Park, November 11, 2011.


• Liz Clarke. "Maryland Commission Recommends Athletic Department Cut Eight Varsity Teams," The Washington Post, November 14, 2011.


• Mark Drajem. "Notre Dame Says No to 'Made in China' on Fighting Irish Goods," Bloomberg, May 17, 2011.


• Libby Sander. "For Pac-10's Smallest Programs, Rich TV Deal Offers a Glimpse of Self-Sufficiency," The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 5, 2011.


• Richard Sandomir. "Pac-10 Secures Rich Deals With Fox and ESPN," New York Times," May 3, 2011.


• Joe Nocera. "Let's Start Paying College Athletes," The New York Times, December 30, 2011.


• Curtis Eichelberger and Oliver Staley. "Rutgers Boosting Athletics at Expense of Academics Fails to Emulate Texas," Bloomberg, August 16, 2011.


• "Rutgers: Bloomberg Rankings, Public University Football Funding"


• "Rutgers: Bloomberg Rankings, Public University Sports Subsidies,"


• "Rutgers NCAA Finance Report,"


• Jarrett Renshaw. "Despite Success on the Field, Big-spending Rutgers Athletics Saddled with Its Largest Deficit Ever," NJ.com, December 11, 2011.


• Rutgers Football Flunks Profit Test As Students Must Pay $1,000, Bloomberg.com, May 2, 2012.


• Rutgers Football -----, [Table] Student Fees Appropriated to Athletics.


• Rutgers Football -----, [Table] University Funds Appropriated to Athletics.


• "Rutgers AD Contract,"


• "Rutgers Football Coach Contract,"


• "Rutgers Women's Basketball Coach Contract."


• James K. Gentry and Raquel Meyer Alexander. "From the Sideline to the Bottom Line [Nick Saban and Les Miles Contracts]," The New York Times, January 3, 2012.


• Jere Longman. "Firing a Coach, at a Price, with Little Evidence the Move Pays Off," The New York Times, November 29, 2012.


• William Tsitsos and Howard L. Nixon II "The Star Wars Arms Race in College Athletics: Coaches' Pay and Athletic Program Status," Journal of Sport and Social Issues, (36:68, 2012)


• John Paul Newport. "College Sports Deluxe: The Golf Team. Forget Football: At Schools Like Oklahoma State, It's the Sweetest Gig on Campus," The Wall Street Journal, November 16, 2012.


• Bill Pennington. "Big Dream, Rude Awakening," The New York Times, December 30, 2012.


• Steve Wieberg, Jodi Upton, and Steve Berkowitz. "Texas Athletics Overwhelms Rivals in Revenue and Spending," USA Today, May 15, 2012.


• Yuhei Inoue, Jose M. Plehn-Dujowich, Aubrey Kent, and Steve Swanson. "Roles of Performance and Human Capital in College Football Coaches' Compensation," Journal of Sport Management (27:2012)


• Adam Himmelsbach. "Endowments Grow From Chalkboards to the Sidelines," The New York Times, August 27, 2012.


• Ramogi Huma and Ellen J. Staurowsky. "The Price of Poverty in Big Time College Sport," National College Players Association, [nd., 2012].


• Mara Gay. "A Financial Hail Mary: Some Colleges Think Big-time Football Is Their Solution," The Daily, November 21, 2012.


• Anderson, Michael L. "The Benefits of College Athletic Success: An Application of the Propensity Score Design with Instrumental Variables," National Bureau of Economic Research, W18196, June 2012


• Bachman, Rachael. "A Bloodless Look at the BCS: College Football's Convoluted Bowl System Is Bowing Out, But Is the New One Any Better?" The Wall Street Journal, August 29, 2013


• E. Scott Adler, Michael J. Berry, and David Doherty. "Pushing 'Reset': The Conditional Effects of Coaching Replacements on College Football Performance," Social Science Quarterly (94:1, 2013)


• Byrd W. Jennings, Phillip A. Mixon, and Alan Wright. "Compensation of College Football's Head Coaches: A Case Study in Firm Size's Effects on Pay," International Journal of Sport Finance, (8:224-235, 2013)


• Randy R. Grant, John C. Leadley, and Zenon X. Zygmont. "Just Win Baby? Determinants of NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Coaching Compensation," International Journal of Sport Finance, (8:61-74, 2013).


• Joel G. Maxcy. "Efficiency and Managerial Performance in FBS College Football: To the Employment and Succession Decisions, Which Matters the Most, Coaching or Recruiting?" Journal of Sports Economics (14:368, 2013)


• Willis A. Jones. "Exploring the Relationship Between Intercollegiate Athletic Expenditures and Team On-Field Success Among NCAA Division I Institutions," Journal of Sports Economics (14:584, 2013)


• Curtis Eichelberger. "NCAA Play in March Proving Madness without College Profit," Bloomberg, March 21, 2013.


• Kelly Huang and Marlene A. Dixon. "Examining the Financial Impact of Alcohol Sales on Football Game Days: A Case Study of a Major Football Program," Journal of Sport Management (27:2013)


• Ben Strauss and Zach Schonbrun. "It's a Game of Spiraling Costs, So a College Tosses Out Football," [Univ Alabama Burmingham] The New York Times December 2, 2014


• Daniel L. Fulks, Revenues and Expenses. 2004 -- 2014 NCAA Division I, Intercollegiate Athletics Programs Report, September 2015.


• Yong Jae Ko, Yong Chae Rhee, Mathew Walker, and Jeoung-Hak Lee. "What Motivates Donors to Athletic Programs: A New Model of Donor Behavior," Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly (43:2014)


• Eleven-Year Trends in Division I Athletics Finances, NCAA, September, 2015


• Eleven-Year Trends in Division II Athletics Finances, NCAA, September, 2015


• Eleven-Year Trends in Division III Athletics Finances, NCAA, September, 2015


• Will Hobson and Steven Rich. "Big-time college athletic departments are taking in more money than ever -- and spending it just as fast," The Washington Post, November 23, 2015.


• John J. Cheslock and David B. Knight. "Diverging Revenues, Cascading Expenditures, and Ensuing Subsidies: The Unbalanced and Growing Financial Strain of Intercollegiate Athletics on Universities and Their Students," The Journal of Higher Education (86:3, 2015)


• Kaitlin Mulhere. "University Senate Report Calls on Rutgers Athletics to become Self-sustaining," Inside HigherEd, March 31, 2015


• Brad Wolverton, Ben Hallman, Shane Shifflett, and Sandhya Kambhampati. "The $10-Billion Sports Tab: How College Students Are Funding the Athletics Arms Race," Chronicle of Higher Education, November 15, 2015.


• NCAA. "One and Done," 2015.


• Brad Wolverton and Sandhya Kambhampati. "Colleges Raised $1.2 Billion in Donations for Sports in 2015," The Chronicle of Higher Education, January 27, 2016


• Will Hobson and Steven Rich. "As College Sports Revenues Spike, Coaches Aren't Only Ones Cashing In," The Washington Post, December 29, 2015


• NCAA Data. The NCAA produces a number of significant and very detailed reports on financial aspects of intercollegiate athletics. These data and analyses are posted on the NCAA website as: Finances of Intercollegiate Athletics.


• Michelle Brutlag Hosick. "DI to Distribute Revenue Based on Academics," NCAA, October 27, 2016


• Jake New. "U of Idaho's Football Program to Depart Football Bowl Subdivision," Inside Higher Ed, April 29, 2016


• Jake New. "Colleges Increase Athletic Spending with Hopes of Joining Power Five," Inside Higher Ed, August 15, 2016


• "Wichita State University, Football Benchmarking Analysis," June, 2016


• Adam Hoffer and Jared A. Pincin. "The Effects of Revenue Changes on NCAA Athletic Departments' Expenditures," Journal of Sport and Social Issues (40:1, 2016)


• Marc Tracy. "U.C.L.A. and Under Armour in Record Sponsorship Deal," The New York Times, May 24, 2016


• Marc Tracy. "Football's Power Lurks Behind the Men's Basketball Tournament," The New York Times, March 16, 2016


• Amanda Fenwick. "San Jacinto College to Discontinue Athletics in Four Programs Effective May 2018," San Jacinto College, November 7, 2016


• Jody W. Lipford and Jerry K. Slice. "Cost Spreading in College Athletic Spending in the United States: Estimates and Implications," Education Economics (25:4, 2017)


• Kurt C. Mayer, Alan L. Morse, and Timothy DeSchriver. "Intercollegiate Football and Luxury Suites: An Investigation of Factors Related to Price," Sport Marketing Quarterly, (26,2017)


• Jayma Meyer and Andrew Zimbalist. "Reforming College Sports: The Case for a Limited and Conditional Antitrust Exemption," The Antitrust Bulletin (62:1, 2017)


• Eben Novy-Williams. "College Football's Top Teams Are Built on Crippling Debt," Bloomberg, January 4, 2017


• Brad Wolverton, Ben Hallman, Shane Shifflett, and Sandhya Kambhampati. "The $10-billion Sports Tab: How Colleges Are Funding the Athletic Arms Race," The Chronicle of Higher Education, November 15, 2015.


• Gregory A. Falls and Paul A. Natke. "The Impact of Video Coverage on Football Bowl Subdivision Attendance," International Journal of Sport Finance (12, 2017)


• Rachel Bachman. "College Football's Growing Problem: Empty Seats," Inside Higher Ed, August 30, 2018.


• Steve Berkowitz, Randy Peterson, Amanda Caffey. "College Football Guarantee Games: A Gig Economy Worth More than $175 Million this Season," USA Today, August 29, 2018.


• Steve Berkowitz, Randy Peterson, and Amanda Caffey. "College Football Guarantee Games: A Gig Economy Worth More Than $175 Million This Season," USA Today, August 29, 2018


• Rachael Bachman. "College Football's Growing Problem: Empty Seats," The Wall Street Journal, August 30, 2018


• Laura Beaudin. "Examining the Relationship Between Athletic Program Expenditure and Athletic Program Success Among NCAA Division I Institutions: A Dynamic Panel Data Approach," Journal of Sports Economics (19, 2018)


• Daniel Simundza. "Cream Puffs: Why Do Elite College Football Programs Schedule Games Against Vastly Inferior Opponents?" Journal of Sports Economics (18, 2018)


• Beth Healy, Nicole Dungca, and Patricia Wen G. "Ivy League Coaching Endowments Raise Ethics Questions," The Boston Globe, May 12, 2019


• NCAA: Revenues and Expenses 2004-2016 (NCAA, 2017)


• Jack Sullivan. "UMass Football Thrown For Big Losses," CommonWealth Magazine, December 12, 2019


• Stephen A. Bergman and Trevon D. Logan. "Revenue Per Quality of College Football Recruit," NBER (Ohio State Uniaversity), March 2020


• Greta Anderson. "Brown University Cuts 11 Varsity Sports," Inside Higher Ed, June 1, 2020


• Paul N. Friga. "Will College Athletics Survive? Should They?" The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 9, 2020


• Tiffany Hsu. "Postponed College Football Games Could Disrupt $1 Billion in TV Ads," The New York Times, August 12, 2020


• Melissa Korn "With Budgets Under Pressure, Colleges Cut Country-Club Staples Like Golf and Tennis," The Wall Street Journal, July 19, 2020


• Ted Tatos. "An Empirical Evaluation of EADA and NCAA College Sports Financial Data: Applications for Research and Litigation, Marquette Sports Law Review (29:2, 2019)


• Juliet Macur. "As Stanford Cuts Teams, Olympic Hopefuls All Over the U.S. Feel a Chill," The New York Times,, August 26, 2020