The Star Wars Arms Race in College Athletics

Abstract

This study focuses on a "star wars arms race" concerning escalating head coaches' salaries in the biggest of the big-time college sports in the United States, football and men's basketball. Data are presented from six seasons since 2003 testing the assumption that paying top salaries to coaches assures or improves success on the field and in the rankings. The data concerning rankings and mobility into and out of the "Top 25" for teams with the top-paid football and men's basketball coaches show that institutions paying the highest salaries to head coaches of these sports are not assured of having highly ranked teams. Policy issues and implications of the star wars arms race for college sports and higher education institutions are discussed.

Coaching Salary Disparity and Team Performance: Evidence from the Football Bowl Subdivision

“…Empirically, two studies have provided insights into the Division I FBS context. Tsitsos and Nixon (2012) found that institutions that were paying large salaries to their head football coaches were not assured short-term or long-term success as measured by their entrance/exit into the USA Today Top 25 rankings. In their analysis which spanned three seasons from 2003-2007, only five teams with coaches who ranked in the top 25 in terms of compensation remained ranked in the Top 25 each season while six never entered into the ranks (Tsitsos & Nixon, 2012, p. 78).…”

The Price of Winning and the Impact on the NCAA Community

“…This is not surprising considering "the average annual salary for (football) head coaches at major colleges (not including four schools that moved up to the Football Bowl Subdivision this season) is $1.64 million, up nearly 12% over last season -and more than 70% since 2006" (Brady, Berkowitz, & Upton, 2012). Interestingly, though, scholars continue to fail to find a relationship between college coaching salaries and team performance (e.g., Orzag & Israel, 2009;Tsitsos & Nixon, 2012;Zimbalist, 2010). One exception to this has been Cunningham's (2003) work, which did find a relationship between head coaching salaries, assistant coaching salaries, and recruiting budgets and Sear's Cup Director point.…”

“…The win-at-all cost mentality and the feeling that monetary support is essential to remain competitive has recently become a more prominent issue in women's athletics. Top women's basketball coaches are now earning more than $1 million (Tsitsos & Nixon, 2012), while the median expenses per women's athletes have increased 42.9% between 2004 and 2011 (Fulks, 2011).…”

A Description and Comparison of the Perceptions of NCAA Division II and Division III College Presidents regarding the Impacts of Intercollegiate Athletics at their Institutions

“…The third implication of this study is for institutions that do not hold NCAA Division II or NCAA Division III membership. This study has presented evidence that perhaps NCAA Division II membership could be an option to consider for some NCAA Division I institutions that are struggling to compete in the ever-growing "arms race" (Clotfelter, 2011;Tsitsos & Nixon, 2012;Zimbalist, 1999;Weisbrod, Ballou, & Asch, 2008). As state funding for public higher education continues to be slashed (Kelderman, 2012;Vedder, 2012) and as numerous private colleges continue to struggle with financial resources, many colleges and universities will be forced to implement changes in order to stay fiscally solvent and fulfill their missions.…”

“…First, there is an overall "disproportionate lack of higher education research on intercollegiate athletics" (Hirko, 2008, p. 14). Second, the vast majority of existing higher education research on intercollegiate athletics is narrowly focused on "big time" NCAA Division I institutions (Baucom & Lantz, 2001;Coakley, 2008;Easter, 1997, p. 3;Emerson, Brooks, & McKenzie, 2009;Nite, 2012;Robst & Keil, 2000) which generally contain the largest institutions and budgets, the highest paid coaches, the finest facilities, the most commercialism, and the most scandal (Clotfelter, 2011;Thelin, 1994;Tsitsos & Nixon, 2012;Weisbrod et al, 2008, pp. 218-277;Zimbalist, 1999).…”