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Evidence of bias in NCAA tournament selection and seeding

Author

Listed:
  • B. Jay Coleman

    (Department of Management, Coggin College of Business, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL, USA)

  • J. Michael DuMond

    (Charles River Associates, Tallahassee, FL, USA)

  • Allen K. Lynch

    (Stetson School of Business and Economics, Mercer University, Macon, GA, USA)

Abstract

We investigate bias in the selection and seeding decisions of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee. Using data on 910 teams associated with the ten tournaments from 1999 to 2008, we test for bias toward teams from seven 'major' conferences and six 'mid-major' conferences, as well as for bias toward teams represented on the Committee. We find substantial support for the hypothesis of bias in favor of virtually all major and mid-major conferences in selection and|or seeding, as well as evidence of bias toward majors over mid-majors. We also find substantial evidence of bias toward teams with some type of Committee representation. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:mgtdec:v:31:y:2010:i:7:p:431-452
    DOI: 10.1002/mde.1499
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. 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.
    2. Kotchen, Matthew J. & Potoski, Matthew, 2014. "Conflicts of interest distort public evaluations: Evidence from NCAA football coaches," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 107(PA), pages 51-63.
    3. 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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