TELECAST DEREGULATION AND COMPETITIVE BALANCE - REGARDING NCAA DIVISION-I FOOTBALL

In 1984 the Supreme Court granted individual schools the right to nego tiate football telecasts, a privilege previously held by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). This paper provides an empiric al analysis of the impact of that decision on competitive balance in c ollege football. Although changes in team and league winning percentag es varied among conferences, the average effect indicates greater comp etitive balance in the post-decision period. These results support the Supreme Court's contention that restrictions on television appearance s are not needed to equalize competitive success.