Rich Get Richer: College Sports
http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/rich-richer-college-sports-poorer-schools-struggle/story?id=41857422
This article that appeared on abc new two months ago highlights the “rich get richer” phenomenon in college sports. It outlines how, “the nation’s richest athletic departments — those in the Power Five conferences — pulled in a record $6 billion last year, nearly $4 billion more than all other schools combined.” Some reasons cited for this disparity in wealth include media rights contracts and rising ticket-sale revenue. These top schools spend this money on perk like private jets, five star hotels, and biometric gadgets for athletes. The Group of Five schools (less rich athletic departments) try to keep up with the Power Five schools (rich athletic departments) by increasing salaries in an attempt to attract the best coaches and administrators, by building new arenas and stadiums, and by giving athletes more financial aid. However, these schools still lose their coaches to the richer schools.
I think that there are several explanations based on our class material that can explain this disparity in wealth among football teams, especially pertaining to human capital. First, I think it is important to look at the athletes these schools are recruiting. Successful high school athletes might look up to friends from their schools that already graduated, or look at other successful athletes from their state. Instead of picking a school that they think is right for them, they might be inclined to copy the decision of other successful athletes that they know. In this case, that school “gets richer” by continually attracting the best athletes. Similarly, top coaches and administrators probably follow other top coaches and administrators to these schools. The continuous attraction of top athletes and staff to these athletic programs creates a rich get richer situation. Additionally, this is how these schools build a legacy of greatness, which continues the “rich get richer” phenomenon through generations. By copying decisions of previous athletes and administrators, they programs continue to become more and more popular and sought after, while the other ones don’t.