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Passing Up Uncertainty for Attendance: The NCAA Basketball Tournament Organizers Change Direction

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  • Stephen G Bronars

    (Welch Consulting, 1090 Vermont Ave, Suite 900, Washington, DC 20005)

  • Todd A McFall

    (Department of Economics, Kirby Hall, Wake Forest University, Winston Salem, NC 27109.)

Abstract

We analyze the changes the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), a widely studied cartel, made in 2002 to the organizational structure of its most valuable asset, the Division I men’s basketball tournament. The NCAA granted itself more freedom in assigning participating teams to their first-round games, and we conclude it used this freedom to provide the sports’ most powerful members with small advantages in their first-round games. The policy change allowed the organization, unwittingly or otherwise, to trade-off reduced uncertainty of tournament games for increased attendance at games, a move that helped maintain the status quo within the cartel.

Suggested Citation

  • Stephen G Bronars & Todd A McFall, 2014. "Passing Up Uncertainty for Attendance: The NCAA Basketball Tournament Organizers Change Direction," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 40(4), pages 459-472, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:easeco:v:40:y:2014:i:4:p:459-472
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