With annual attendance at sporting events exceeding 200 million in United States, sports has become big business in the United States. Player contracts exceeding $100 million have become commonplace, and nearly 50 new professional sports facilities have been constructed in the last 10 years alone. What has caused this massive transformation of the sports landscape? This course covers the unique economic issues that face athletes and sports franchises including topics such as professional player salaries, competitive balance, anti-trust issues, public financing of sport facilities and mega-events, and college athletics. Theoretical models will be presented and critiqued with empirical evidence from U.S. and world sports teams and sports labor markets. Format: lecture/discussion. Requirements: exams, written problem sets and research paper. Prerequisites: Economics 110 or 101. Enrollment limit: 40 (expected: 40). Preference given to Economics majors.

Hour: MATHESON