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State of Play: How Do College Football Programs Compete for Student Athletes?

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  • Jill S. Harris

    (United States Air Force Academy)

Abstract

Each year high school football players sign letters of intent with college football programs. The NCAA governs this matching market with strict rules that are designed to protect amateurism. DuMond et al. (J Sports Econ 9(1):67–87, 2008) develop a model of athlete choice. I consider the matching puzzle from the program’s perspective: What factors increase the likelihood that a school will successfully recruit an athlete? Like DuMond et al., I find that the state of play matters. However, my results suggest that football programs are willing to recruit outside their borders. In addition, the results align with prior findings about cheating in the NCAA. This extends the literature on college sport recruiting and may provide insight into other matching puzzles in academic, medical, and business job markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Jill S. Harris, 2018. "State of Play: How Do College Football Programs Compete for Student Athletes?," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 52(2), pages 269-281, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:revind:v:52:y:2018:i:2:d:10.1007_s11151-017-9602-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s11151-017-9602-z
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. James Albrecht & Susan Vroman, 2002. "A Matching Model with Endogenous Skill Requirements," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 43(1), pages 283-305, February.
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    3. Wallace Hendricks & Lawrence DeBrock & Roger Koenker, 2003. "Uncertainty, Hiring, and Subsequent Performance: The NFL Draft," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 21(4), pages 857-886, October.
    4. J. Michael Dumond & Allen K. Lynch & Jennifer Platania, 2008. "An Economic Model of the College Football Recruiting Process," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 9(1), pages 67-87, February.
    5. Roth, Alvin E, 1984. "The Evolution of the Labor Market for Medical Interns and Residents: A Case Study in Game Theory," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 92(6), pages 991-1016, December.
    6. Brad R. Humphreys & Jane E. Ruseski, 2009. "Monitoring Cartel Behavior and Stability: Evidence from NCAA Football," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 75(3), pages 720-735, January.
    7. Fleisher, Arthur III & Shughart, William II & Tollison, Robert D. & Goff, Brian L., 1988. "Crime or punishment? : Enforcement of the NCAA football cartel," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 433-451, December.
    8. Craig A. Depken II & Dennis P. Wilson, 2006. "NCAA Enforcement and Competitive Balance in College Football," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 72(4), pages 826-845, April.
    9. Brown, Robert W, 1993. "An Estimate of the Rent Generated by a Premium College Football Player," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 31(4), pages 671-684, October.
    10. Grier, Kevin B. & Tollison, Robert D., 1994. "The rookie draft and competitive balance: The case of professional football," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 293-298, October.
    11. Jill Harris, 2011. "The Demand for Student-Athlete Labor and the Supply of Violations in the NCAA," Working Papers 1115, International Association of Sports Economists;North American Association of Sports Economists.
    12. Lawrence M. Kahn, 2007. "Markets: Cartel Behavior and Amateurism in College Sports," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 21(1), pages 209-226, Winter.
    13. David Berri & Stacey Brook & Aju Fenn, 2011. "From college to the pros: predicting the NBA amateur player draft," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 25-35, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Roger D. Blair, 2018. "Symposium: The NCAA Cartel—Introduction," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 52(2), pages 179-183, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Football recruiting; NCAA; Matching;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J42 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Monopsony; Segmented Labor Markets
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
    • Z21 - Other Special Topics - - Sports Economics - - - Industry Studies

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