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Political Correctness, Selection Bias, and the NCAA Basketball Tournament

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  • Rodney J. Paul
  • Mark Wilson

Abstract

Allegations of selection bias toward the major conferences and teams with committee representation have previously been levied on the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Basketball tournament selection committee. We illustrate the source of this bias is political correctness. When using the computer ranking of Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), which uses only wins and losses in its analysis, bias in the selection process seems evident. No bias is revealed when the Sagarin “Predictor†rating is substituted for RPI. The Sagarin “Predictor†rating uses margin of victory and results compared to expectations in its analysis; the selection committee appears to use the same factors when determining at-large bids.

Suggested Citation

  • Rodney J. Paul & Mark Wilson, 2015. "Political Correctness, Selection Bias, and the NCAA Basketball Tournament," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 16(2), pages 201-213, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:jospec:v:16:y:2015:i:2:p:201-213
    DOI: 10.1177/1527002512465413
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Paul, Rodney J. & Weinbach, Andrew P., 2007. "The uncertainty of outcome and scoring effects on Nielsen ratings for Monday Night Football," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 59(3), pages 199-211.
    2. B. Jay Coleman & J. Michael DuMond & Allen K. Lynch, 2010. "Evidence of bias in NCAA tournament selection and seeding," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(7), pages 431-452.
    3. Buraimo, Babatunde & Simmons, Rob, 2009. "A tale of two audiences: Spectators, television viewers and outcome uncertainty in Spanish football," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 61(4), pages 326-338, July.
    4. Rodney J. Paul & Andrew P. Weinbach & Patrick Coate, 2007. "Expectations and Voting in the NCAA Football Polls," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 8(4), pages 412-424, August.
    5. David Forrest & Robert Simmons & Babatunde Buraimo, 2005. "Outcome Uncertainty And The Couch Potato Audience," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 52(4), pages 641-661, September.
    6. Rodney J. Paul & Andrew P. Weinbach, 2011. "Investigating Allegations of Pointshaving in NCAA Basketball Using Actual Sportsbook Betting Percentages," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 12(4), pages 432-447, August.
    7. Rodney Paul & Andrew Weinbach, 2005. "Market efficiency and NCAA college basketball gambling," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 29(3), pages 403-408, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Daniel F. Stone & Jeremy Arkes, 2018. "March Madness? Underreaction To Hot And Cold Hands In Ncaa Basketball," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 56(3), pages 1724-1747, July.
    2. Daniel C. Hickman, 2020. "Efficiency in the madness? examining the betting market for the ncaa men’s basketball tournament," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 44(3), pages 611-626, July.

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