Thanks to @pnewberry1963 for interviewing me for this. To quote Yoda, "The future is tough to see. Always in motion the future is."

SDSU's schedule a lesson in profits, losses

Aztecs to earn $800,000 from playing at Missouri Saturday

By Brent Schrotenboer

Wednesday, September 15, 2010 at 5:37 p.m.

I'm a little late sharing this, but an interesting article out of San Diego on the business of San Diego State's football team.

Twenty-two games and a profit of $5.3 million? Seems like SDSU is selling itself short.

Hit the Books

Some of the most common listed majors of BCS week-one football starters.

CATEGORY OF MAJOR	NUMBER	CATEGORY OF MAJOR	NUMBER
Business	155	Engineering	20
Sociology	134	Political Science	18
Communications	108	Linguistics	11
Liberal Arts	103	Agricultural	10
General Studies	91	Hospitality	7
Sports and Exercise	79	Art, Music, Film	6
Social Work	65	English	5
Law and Justice	61	Zoology	2
Sports Management	39	Architecture	2
Education	35	Mathematics	2
History	25	Spanish	1
Psychology	25	Philosophy	1

We have our share of student-athletes, particularly football, in our major. But, I think it is natural for someone who spends his or her life playing sports to want to make a career in a sports related field.

But I always laugh when I come across a student who is a "General Studies" major. What exactly is that? Are these players going to become generals in the military? How about attorneys general? And, how is a liberal arts major different than a general studies major?

Click on the link from @WSJSports for a brief article in addition to the table.

A tennis player at Princeton who allegedly accepted $33,000 from a booster has earned the university the dubious honor of being the first Ivy League college in 36 years to run afoul of NCAA rules in a major infractions case.

The NCAA said the booster, who is an alumnus of Princeton's men's tennis program, provided the sum to a player on the women's tennis team during the 2007-8 academic year and the fall of 2008 to help pay for her educational expenses. (Princeton, like all Ivy League institutions, does not offer athletic scholarships.) The booster and the athlete met during the summer before her freshman year of high school at a tennis club near their homes.

As punishment, the NCAA instructed the university to vacate the athlete's individual records during the 2007-8 year and the fall of 2008.

The NCAA's report stated that Princeton, in its written response to the allegations, "attempted to minimize the significance" of the $33,000 donation.

The university's argument went like this: The dollar amount of the booster's assistance "was entirely a function of the cost of the Princeton education," minus the athlete's financial-aid award from the university. In other words, if it cost less to attend Princeton, the booster would have paid less. (For a lengthier explanation of this interesting theory, go to Page 3 of the NCAA's public report.)

Today the university issued a lengthy statement saying it had "mixed reactions" to the NCAA's findings and giving a detailed account of the background of the case. The university does not plan to appeal the decision.

It's extremely rare for an Ivy League institution to get caught up in a flap over NCAA rules violations. Only three other Ivy programs have been sanctioned by the NCAA since 1953, when the association started keeping such records. The most recent was in 1974, when the NCAA placed Cornell on probation for recruiting violations in its men's ice-hockey program. A few months later, "unethical conduct" by coaching staff members on the men's basketball team, among other missteps, triggered an additional year of probation.

Yale has the distinct honor of being the first Ivy to run afoul of NCAA rules. Those sanctions came in 1970, when the Bulldogs allowed a basketball player to participate in "unauthorized, outside, organized basketball competition during the summer of 1969," according to the public report. The NCAA placed Yale on probation for two years and banned the Bulldogs from postseason competition and television appearances.

So, if AJ Green sells a jersey for $1,000 and gets suspended 4 games, does that mean this Princeton tennis player who accepted $33,000 is out 132 games?

Here is the 13-minute video the UA athletic department is using to help motivate fans to increase their annual contribution to the Razorback Foundation. From a PR perspective, I think the video is well done, compelling, and the play on words from "Calling the Hogs" to "Answer the Call" is catchy. I'll try to write more tomorrow about the potential impact of this in the context of college athletics.

What Nike Gets
Arkansas won’t disclose the terms of its five-year deal with Nike, citing a “competitive advantage” exemption. But the 44-page contract does reveal what the apparel company will be getting in return from the Razorbacks on an annual basis. Here’s a look at some of highlights:
1 — 30-second pregame commercial in Razorback Stadium
1 — 30-second pregame commercial in Bud Walton Arena
1 — 30-second pregame commercial in Baum Stadium
1 — Full-page, four-color Nike ad in every home game program
2 — Appearances by each Arkansas head coach on behalf of Nike
2 — On air mentions on the Razorback Baseball Radio Network
2 — “VIP” parking passes at all basketball games
4 — “VIP” parking passes at all football games
6 — Men’s and women’s basketball tickets for home games
8 — “VIP” tickets for each football home game
10 — Football tickets for bowl game and conference championship
50 — Additional football tickets to one game for a hospitality event

Other Contract Details
• Nike acknowledgments must be on each wall — at field level — in Razorback Stadium and in both end zones in War Memorial Stadium. Nike acknowledgment also must be on the John McDonnell Outdoor Track scoreboard and on dugouts in Baum Stadium. In-game acknowledgments on the LED boards in Bud Walton Arena are required, too. Arkansas is initially responsible for producing and installing the signs, while Nike is responsible for any changes thereafter.
• Nike laid out its “zero tolerance” policy against “non-medically necessitated spatting” of shoes. The “polishing-out, spatting or taping of football shoes to cover up or obscure any portion of the Nike logo is not allowed and constitutes a material breach of contract. As a result, Arkansas could be subject to the reduction of its annual qualified sponsorship payment from Nike.
• Arkansas must notify Nike if an athlete suffers any foot pain or discomfort attributed to its footwear. Nike will “diligently seek” to correct the problem through its remedial efforts, which include a paid trip to a podiatrist or other qualified physicians and design consultations or tests conducted by Nike’s footwear research and design personnel. If the efforts ultimately prove unsuccessful, Nike will then furnish the athlete with footwear of choice.

Existing Contracts
Nike may have become the official provider of Arkansas athletics, but it’s not the only contract the program has with equipment companies. Here’s a look at the Razorbacks preexisting contracts, which were obtained through a Freedom of Information request:
Program    Product        Supplier    Contract Expiration
Football — Footballs — Wilson — 12/31/10
Women’s Basketball — Basketballs — Wilson — 6/30/11
Baseball — Bats, Camp T-shirts, Accessories — Easton —  7/1/19
Baseball — Hats — The Game — 6/30/11
Softball — Bats and Equipment — Wilson — 7/31/12

Big day today in Razorback land as our athletic department officially gives Adidas the boot and goes with Nike. Though the dollar amount of the five-year deal has not been disclosed, other interesting aspects of the contract were obtained by the local media through an FOIA request. So, with credit to @NWARobbie here it is.

My students often say they like sports, but don't like economics. The reality is the two are highly inter-related. We talk about PSLs all the time, but I never refer to them as two-part tariffs. Eyes would glaze over instantly if I did.