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Home > Blogs > Buckeyes Beat > Archives > 2009 > February > 09
Monday, February 9, 2009
Could former Buckeye dollars boost UD football?
This is old news. But, to reiterate:
Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith confirmed Sunday the Buckeyes’ athletic department will lose money during the fiscal year ending June 30.
Smith says revenues are down between $300,000 and $500,000 this year for the winning men’s basketball team. He did not know how much the department is expected to lose in total.
Now, what do we make of this? The Ohio State athletic department, and its football arm in particular, are seen as such massive entities that their decrease in strength will no doubt have some repercussions.
Could one of those be a boost in other college football programs around the state?
The idea came during a recent conversation with Andrew Zimbalist, a professor of economics at Smith College in Massachusetts and probably the most respected sports economist in the country. The topic was effect of a difficult economy on sports.
“As a general rule, people are more attached to professional teams,” Zimbalist said.
I think most would agree Ohio State football is considered on par with the professional teams in this state, if not on top of them, in interest and support. So, people are attached. However…
“One force causes people to save their money,” Zimbalist said. “The other force causes them to look for cheaper versions of the same category.”
So here comes college football in Ohio, from the Mid-American Conference to other divisions. Locally, that could be the University of Dayton, Central State, Wittenberg University and Wilmington College. It is, after all, still college football. It’s a tree-lined campus on a Saturday, even if the stadium doesn’t seat 100,000 people. Technically.
Based on what Zimbalist said, it could be asked: Will these schools see greater interest and attendance for football and other sports because the tough economy has folks more closely watching their sporting dollars?
Which goes first, the cable, home telephone or Buckeyes tickets and paraphernalia?
