College Sports:Changing Over Time

Stephen Grafton

College Sports

College sports have changed much over timeEquipment and rules have certainly changed,

but college sports have also grown to impact other areas of society:

-Economy-Media-College admissions, academics, and

revenues

College Sports: Early 1900’s

Football was only sport that schools sponsored

Forward pass was illegal until 1906, and even upon legalization, it was rarely used

Equipment was different; little or no padding was used, helmets were not required

Due to violence and deaths, the NCAA was created to protect the student athletes and preserve the game of football

College Sports: 1950’s

Football grew out of World War II and was just beginning to capture America’s attention, but the AFL-NFL merger was still ten years away

Basketball was just beginning to gain popularity, and the NCAA tournament was in its beginning stages with only 16 teams

NCAA began to require teams to participate in their season-ending tournament

College Sports: 1950’s

NCAA also controlled the television markets for college football, only allowing a few games to be televised nationally during the year

Becoming what it is today

In 1984, University of Georgia and University of Oklahoma filed a lawsuit against the NCAA based on their monopoly on television markets. The successful lawsuit gave universities more control.

The most popular teams, such as Michigan, had nearly all of their games televised, increasing their influence.

In college basketball, the NCAA tournament grew gradually, eventually reaching 64 teams in 1986 and becoming a staple of college sports.

Notable Rule Changes

Football:-Forward pass legalized-Football elongated for better passing-Overtime instituted in 1996

Basketball:-NCAA tournament grew from 4 to 65-3 point shot instituted for 1987 tournament, changing the game forever. Indiana wins tournament shooting 50.8% from 3

Impacting Society

College sports have grown to become a major part of American society

Increased media exposure as well as increased interest by fans

Impacted admissions, academics, and university image

NCAA Growth

1950- 387 member schools2006- 1024 member schools

Economic Impact

In the 1940’s, the pressure to perform on the field was so great that many schools hired professional players to play for their schools

Due to this demand for payment, the NCAA finally allowed scholarships in the 1950’s, giving students an opportunity to gain an education for free

Economic Impact

Once the NCAA lost exclusive rights to negotiate television broadcasts in 1984, college football and basketball became very prevalent on television, especially with the creation of ESPN

Television prominence lead to more money and more exposure for college teams

Average Television Revenues

Sport Revenue

NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament

$564 million

NCAA Football: ACC, Big East, Big-12, Notre Dame, Pac-10

$111 million

MLB $550 million

NBA $767 million

NFL $2.2 billion

NHL $120 million

Football and Basketball Publicity

College Football and basketball now rival the four main professional sports, based on revenues and ticket sales

Large influence on the American public

Ticket Revenues

Sport Revenue

NCAA Division I Football and Basketball

$757 million

MLB $671 million

NBA $967 million

NFL $730 million

NHL $731 million

Impacts on the Universities

Although college basketball and football are high revenue sports, college sports as a whole do not make money

Only the most prominent schools are able to turn a profit on their football programs

College Football Revenues, 2007-2008

School Total Revenue

Texas $120,288,370

Ohio State $117,953,712

Florida $106,030,895

Michigan $99,027,105

Wisconsin $93,452,334

College Football Revenues, 2007-20008

School Revenue

Idaho $12,896,488

Louisiana Tech $12,465,865

Louisiana-Lafayette $11,134,598

Arkansas State $10,456,754

Louisiana-Monroe $7,733,035

Revenues

These numbers show that college football is only a high revenue sport for those at the top of the game

Once expenses are accounted for, most schools lose money off of their football team

In fact, minus subsidies, only 6% of universities reported making a profit off of their football team in 2001

Division I-A Profits

1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003

-$254,000 -$243,000 -$936,000 $0 -$654,000 -$633,000

Profits

As we see on the previous slide, most universities actually lose money on their college sports.

Universities are supposed to be academics-driven, but sports can take some funding away from academics

Benefits to Universities

Robert Sandy and Peter Sloane found that universities that went to a bowl game within 5 years or moved from division I-AA to I-A actually had an increase of 12-13 points in their incoming students’ SAT scores

Also, by becoming a Division I-A football team, universities increased their size by about 2,000 students

Benefits to Universities

College sports give universities much needed publicity

College sports give alumni a way to continue to connect with their alma mater even after graduation, often leading to increased alumni donations.

Overall Impacts Today

College Sports influence us through:-Economic Issues-Issues involving academics and

admissions to Universities-Constant media exposure

They are extremely influential, and will be in the future