Profit or loss? On the determinants of net income of United States college football programs

Purpose - This study aims to predict the determinants of net income of 101 US university football programs. Design/methodology/approach - Guided by stakeholder theory, financial capacity model and resource dependency theory, the dependent variable was net income (indicated as profit or loss) and independent variables were measured as the number of women and men’s team sports, average home attendances, win–loss records, conference ranking, endowment funds and age of football programs. Statistical analysis was performed using Kendell tau and binary logistic regression (BLR). Findings - Net income was positively and statistically associated with home attendance, win–loss record, conference rankings and endowment funds, but not number of women’s sports, age of football program and number of men’s sports teams. The BLR indicated that home attendance was the best predictor of net income. Research limitations/implications - The research was delimited to 101 Football Bowl Subdivision football programs from public universities. Practical implications - The findings indicate that home attendance and conference rankings had the highest association with net income, but the former was the best predictor of net income and not football tradition nor number of sports teams. Originality/value - The study was pioneering in the predictive evaluation of the possible determinants of loss or profitability in college football programs.