Me on the Twitter: New schools getting into this football business. Does it make sense?
Earlier this week, I was involved in a conversation about the economic value of football to colleges, and UNC-Charlotte’s decision to field a football team. After CBS/SI guy Seth Davis mocked Joe Nocera’s latest NCAA column for being disappointed that more schools aren’t dropping football, someone cited UNC-Charlotte as an example of an ambitious school looking to add football to its menu of attractions.
Andy Schwarz, a California sports economist, was in this fray, too. I’ve tweet-versed with Andy a few times—he and I broadly agree on the need for the NCAA to operate like a normal (and legal) business. Here’s a typical post from his blog, Sportsgeekonomics.
More pertinently, here’s his Dec. 8 piece for VICE Sports about the decision by the University of Alabama at Birmingham to cease its football operations. Some of the disagreement I had with him over that piece spilled into this Twitter-stream about UNC-Charlotte and the economics of college football.
Here’s the Twitter conversation, which started after this Davis tweet:
Joe Nocera is disappointed more schools aren’t dropping football. Just so you know. http://t.co/zciMP1l6NW
— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) December 16, 2014
Here’s Schwarz a little later:
@drridpath @DanWolken @tsnmike @SethDavisHoops Predictions of doom everywhere while revenues just climbed 8% per year, recession or boom.
— Andy Schwarz (@andyhre) December 16, 2014
Then two other people led the conversation to UNC-Charlotte:
@drridpath @andyhre @DanWolken @SethDavisHoops But why did places like Ga State and Charlotte even get into FB biz?
— Michael DeCourcy (@tsnmike) December 16, 2014
Here’s me:
@andyhre @drridpath @tsnmike @DanWolken @SethDavisHoops Re UNC-Charlotte, the new football program resulted in big increase in student fees.
— David Fellerath (@DavidFellerath) December 16, 2014
@andyhre @drridpath @tsnmike @DanWolken @SethDavisHoops Dunno, but fees went up more than 100 percent. http://t.co/e7Y0PF2jTI
— David Fellerath (@DavidFellerath) December 16, 2014
@andyhre @drridpath @tsnmike @DanWolken @SethDavisHoops Not sure I follow. Increased demand for what?
— David Fellerath (@DavidFellerath) December 16, 2014
@DavidFellerath @drridpath @tsnmike @DanWolken @SethDavisHoops For the overall Charlotte experience.
— Andy Schwarz (@andyhre) December 16, 2014
@andyhre @drridpath @tsnmike @DanWolken @SethDavisHoops When I looked at this (2013), they were having trouble filling 7K student allotment.
— David Fellerath (@DavidFellerath) December 16, 2014
@andyhre @drridpath @tsnmike @DanWolken @SethDavisHoops Judging from loose demand for student seats, I guess >15K don’t care much about FB.
— David Fellerath (@DavidFellerath) December 16, 2014
@andyhre @DavidFellerath @tsnmike @DanWolken @SethDavisHoops a good question!
— B. David Ridpath (@drridpath) December 16, 2014
@andyhre @DavidFellerath @tsnmike @DanWolken @SethDavisHoops I agree it would be ludicrous not to incrementally reduce as a minimum.
— B. David Ridpath (@drridpath) December 16, 2014
@andyhre @DavidFellerath @tsnmike @DanWolken @SethDavisHoops I would agree but containing costs and curbing tuition should be goal.
— B. David Ridpath (@drridpath) December 16, 2014
@andyhre @DavidFellerath @tsnmike @DanWolken @SethDavisHoops unfortunately
— B. David Ridpath (@drridpath) December 16, 2014
@DavidFellerath @drridpath @tsnmike @DanWolken @SethDavisHoops UNC-C 2011 tuition+Fees: $131mm up $10mm from prior yr.http://t.co/iThbGXf69J
— Andy Schwarz (@andyhre) December 16, 2014
@DavidFellerath @drridpath @tsnmike @DanWolken @SethDavisHoops I’m just saying in cntxt of $10mm increases, that $2.2mm may be by design.
— Andy Schwarz (@andyhre) December 16, 2014
@DavidFellerath @drridpath @tsnmike @DanWolken @SethDavisHoops And isn’t implausible as estimate driven by football.
— Andy Schwarz (@andyhre) December 16, 2014
@DavidFellerath @drridpath @tsnmike @DanWolken Yes, presumably this is a NC public policy issue. All else equal, Prices go up with demand.
— Andy Schwarz (@andyhre) December 16, 2014
@andyhre @drridpath @tsnmike @DanWolken And requiring more student debt. All that said, UNC-C still a bargain compared to UNC and NC State.
— David Fellerath (@DavidFellerath) December 16, 2014
Then Jay Smith, a UNC history professor known for his criticisms of big-time sports on campus (and who is writing a book with whistle-blower Mary Willingham), jumped in:
@andyhre @DavidFellerath @drridpath @tsnmike @DanWolken Higher ed a public good, like health care. Should not be a wholly free market.
— Jay Smith (@jaysmith711) December 16, 2014
Whatever may be terrible about Twitter, it’s a great space for a few obsessives to find each other.