Course Description:

This course will provide you with the fundamental economic concepts that are found in the world of professional sports. We will be discussing issues related to industrial organization and competition, public finance, and labor economics. This is first and foremost an economics course, not designed for the casual sports fan.

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Recent Course Syllabus

Instructor: Cory Sinclair
Office: Bu C # 7 (Basement of Business Classroom Building)
Hours: Monday 10:30 - 11:30 a.m., Tuesday 6:15 - 7:00 p.m., or by appointment
Email: sinclair@economics.utah.edu (Easiest way to reach me)
Course website: www.econ.utah.edu/sinclair/3960sports.htm

Textbook Requirement:
The Economics of Sports written by Michael Leeds and Peter von Allmen. We will use the text as the backbone to our class. I will also prepare several articles which are required reading. They will be available on reserve in the library.

What this course is:
This course will be a survey of the theory and literature of the economic issues relevant in Professional Sports. We will discuss issues such as Major League Baseball labor issues, building a new arena or stadium, effect on local economies, etc. All of the topics will be discussed within the context of economics. We will review principles of microeconomics, and if any of the material is new to you, come and see me immediately, otherwise you will get behind quickly. We will hopefully have a few guest speakers with applied knowledge of the economics of professional sports. In addition, we will have several group discussions/debates regarding topics discussed in class. There is no class outline (on purpose) because the pace of the course will depend on class interest in particular subjects, however, there will be a weekly course outline posted on the course website at the beginning of each week. The exam dates will not change and I will absolutely let you know before each exam what you will be responsible for. This course will use the web extensively, you should have access to a computer and have a good understanding of web materials and resources. If you are not familiar with web browsers or web resources, come and see me as soon as possible.

What this course is not:
This is not a course designed for the casual sports fan. This is an economics course, and if you have expectations about this course that include discussions about how the Utah Jazz are doing or why they don't trade Greg Ostertag, then perhaps you should reconsider.

Course Requirements:
-There will be three exams given during the semester, with the dates given below. Each exam will constitute 20% of your final grade (60% total). The exams will be essays only, and although the exams are not comprehensive, much of the material will build off of itself, so a good understanding of early material is required to fully understand later material.

-You will be required to write a research paper for this course, which will constitute 35% of your final grade. This project will be discussed at length in class. Note the various due dates for the project below.

-The remaining 5% of your grade will come from class participation. You will have several opportunities to earn the full 5%. We will be doing several group discussions, debates, etc. where class participation is easily earned.

-At the end of each chapter are chapter questions. I will be pointing out the questions that would be good to look at. These will not be required or handed in, however, they will help you prepare for the exams.

Major Topics of Discussion:

• Industrial Organization issues (Revenues and Costs, Profit measurement, market definition, Antitrust and exceptions
• Public Finance issues (Market for sports franchises, stadium financing, how much do cities benefit?)
• Labor Market issues (Restrictions on competitive labor market, competitive balance, superstars, labor unions and collective bargaining, discrimination in sports)
• Other Loose Ends (Media in Sports, Amateur Athletics, Other Legal issues)

Important Dates:

Exam Dates:
9/24 - Exam 1
10/29 - Exam 2
12/10 - Exam 3 (10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. as scheduled by the final exam schedule)

*There will be no make-up exams*

Research Paper Dates:
8/29 - Research Papers and Possible Topics discussed in class
9/12 - Written submission of Topic is due
10/17 - Bibliography and brief literature review due (annotated bibliography is fine)
11/21 - Final Draft of Research Paper Due (Be prepared to speak about your paper)

*Late Papers will not be accepted*

University Important Dates:

9/2 - No classes held (Labor Day)
10/3, 10/4 - Semester Break - No classes held
11/28, 11/29 - Thanksgiving Holiday - No classes held 12/5 - Last day of classes
12/9 - 12/13: Final Exam Week
8/30 - last day to drop semester length classes

If you have any disability or special concern regarding this class, please get in contact with me early in the semester so that we may make any necessary arrangements. As a general rule, I do not give incompletes.

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