The Economic Impact of Intercollegiate Athletics on Former Students

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Frontmatter

2. Chapter 1. Beer and Circus?

   Richard J. Cebula, Robert N. Fenili, James V. Koch

   Abstract

   American campuses are struggling to cope with unprecedented changes that are impacting their intercollegiate athletic programs. While in theory they retain the ultimate ability to decide the range and level of sports they sponsor, the facilities they provide, what athletic conferences they join, and how much they spend, reality is that they have only partial control over their own revenue streams and costs. This is one of the reasons why the growth in the typical institution’s intercollegiate athletic expenditures consistently has outpaced price inflation. Judicial decisions, especially House v. the National Collegiate Athletic Association, have forced many institutions to pay large sums to attract skilled athletes to their campuses. As a consequence, institutions now routinely switch athletic conferences, primarily in order to increase their revenues. It is “all about the Benjamins.” Amidst this, we ask a simple and direct question. What about the students? Specifically, are there any economic benefits that accrue to students after they graduate that can be traced to intercollegiate athletics?

3. Chapter 2. Where We Are

   Richard J. Cebula, Robert N. Fenili, James V. Koch

   Abstract

   Intercollegiate athletic programs exist with the framework of colleges and universities that are engaged in many different activities, only one of which is educating students. How well do accomplish their goals? Do students learn to think critically? Do intercollegiate athletics interfere with that process? Do colleges function primarily as signalling devices that identify promising employees for employers? Do intercollegiate programs promote alcohol abuse or discourage class attendance? This chapter is devoted to providing background for succeeding chapters that address whether intercollegiate athletic programs confer economic benefits upon students that they carry with them after they have graduated.

4. Chapter 3. The Sample and the Data

   Richard J. Cebula, Robert N. Fenili, James V. Koch

   Abstract

   This is a “plumbing and heating” chapter in which we describe the data we utilize in our analyses, trace where these numbers come from, and in some cases describe their weaknesses. We present sample means, medians, and standard deviations for the variables we use in our analyses so that readers can acquire a sense of where we are now, for example, in the funding of intercollegiate athletic programs. We outline both the measures of economic success we seek to explain (for example, the incomes of students after they graduate) and the likely factors that influence those incomes.

5. Chapter 4. The Incomes Earned by Graduates

   Richard J. Cebula, Robert N. Fenili, James V. Koch

   Abstract

   Is there any statistical connection between the incomes individuals earn after they graduate and the intercollegiate athletic programs of their alma mater? We utilize a variety of income measures to answer this question and in every case find that the answer is no.

6. Chapter 5. Intercollegiate Athletics and Earning “More than High School”

   Richard J. Cebula, Robert N. Fenili, James V. Koch

   Abstract

   Many individuals who attend college do so because they hope to make themselves better off economically speaking—to earn “more than high school.” We find, however, that ten years after their high school graduation years, significant proportions of college graduates do not earn more than the median income earned by their high school graduation only counterparts. Intercollegiate athletic programs have no impact upon this relationship even though students usually end up paying for those programs.

7. Chapter 6. Intercollegiate Athletics and Upward Economic Mobility

   Richard J. Cebula, Robert N. Fenili, James V. Koch

   Abstract

   Many college graduates anticipate that after they earn their bachelor’s degree, they will move upward economically speaking. However, upward economic mobility in American society has been declining. Our statistical tests fail to reveal any connection between intercollegiate athletic programs and upward economic mobility.

8. Chapter 7. Intercollegiate Athletics and Student Debt

   Richard J. Cebula, Robert N. Fenili, James V. Koch

   Abstract

   Despite student debt forgiveness programs, total federal student debt now has reached a staggering $1.6 trillion. Is there any connection between this debt and intercollegiate athletic programs? Yes and no. Yes, because students on all but a few campuses end up paying for significant proportions of intercollegiate athletic expenses. But no, because the average size of a student’s federal student debt upon graduation has no connection to the level or intensity of intercollegiate athletic competition at graduates’ institutions.

9. Chapter 8. Portents for the Future

   Richard J. Cebula, Robert N. Fenili, James V. Koch

   Abstract

   We summarize our findings, which tell us that even though students on a typical campus end up paying for much of the cost of intercollegiate athletics, that in general there are no economic benefits realized by them after they graduate that can be attributed to their alma mater’s intercollegiate athletic activities. Thus, intercollegiate athletics are a consumption good that some students utilize, but even for these students who do attend athletic events, there are no economic benefits that they enjoy that can be traced to intercollegiate athletics.

10. Backmatter