Financial Differences in Men’s and Women’s College Athletic Programs

Location

D.P. Culp Center Room 311

Start Date

4-5-2024 1:30 PM

End Date

4-5-2024 2:30 PM

Name of Project's Faculty Sponsor

Kelly Foster

Faculty Sponsor's Department

Sociology and Anthropology

Competition Type

Competitive

Type

Oral Presentation

Presentation Category

Social Sciences

Abstract or Artist's Statement

Financial Differences in Men’s and Women’s College Athletic Programs Charlie Davis, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, East Tennessee State University The aim of this research is to find a relationship in how much is spent in expenses on athletic programs and how that changes revenue amounts for programs. Historically, female athletes are paid less, and their programs are given less funding than their male counterparts. (Escott, Melvin, Sevilla) The prevailing argument for this disparity in pay is that women’s sports garner less viewership than men’s (Cooky, Messner, Musto, 2015), however there is little research that examines the other potential factors such as lack of investment in women’s sports. I used the Equity in Athletics 2022 dataset from the U.S. Department of Education which includes 2028 different institutions with both men’s and women’s athletic programs. A multiple regression test was used in order to see the impact of expenses paid for men’s and women’s college athletics on team revenue. The variables Head Coach Salary, Number of Assistant Coaches, Student Aid, Recruitment Costs, and Total Expenses were used as predictors of Total Revenue. Regression results indicated that the number of assistant coaches, student aid given, recruitment costs, and total expenses are significant predictors in both men’s and women’s athletic team revenue. The variable Head Coach Salary did not significantly change the revenue of women’s teams but did negatively affect men’s athletic teams. Findings indicate that various components, particularly those related to athletic funding choices, impact the overall revenue that a team brings in to their university. Further research would have to be done, but it is possible that this could be applied to professional athletic clubs as well. This research is important because it allows us to see how unfair the statement that women’s sports are less popular than men’s sports is because they are not evenly funded. Works Cited Cooky, C., Messner, M. A., & Musto, M. (2015). “it’s dude time!” Communication & Sport, 3(3), 261–287. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167479515588761 Escott, A., Melvin, J., & Sevilla, D. Gender Gap in Athletics.

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Apr 5th, 1:30 PM Apr 5th, 2:30 PM

Financial Differences in Men’s and Women’s College Athletic Programs

D.P. Culp Center Room 311

Financial Differences in Men’s and Women’s College Athletic Programs Charlie Davis, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, East Tennessee State University The aim of this research is to find a relationship in how much is spent in expenses on athletic programs and how that changes revenue amounts for programs. Historically, female athletes are paid less, and their programs are given less funding than their male counterparts. (Escott, Melvin, Sevilla) The prevailing argument for this disparity in pay is that women’s sports garner less viewership than men’s (Cooky, Messner, Musto, 2015), however there is little research that examines the other potential factors such as lack of investment in women’s sports. I used the Equity in Athletics 2022 dataset from the U.S. Department of Education which includes 2028 different institutions with both men’s and women’s athletic programs. A multiple regression test was used in order to see the impact of expenses paid for men’s and women’s college athletics on team revenue. The variables Head Coach Salary, Number of Assistant Coaches, Student Aid, Recruitment Costs, and Total Expenses were used as predictors of Total Revenue. Regression results indicated that the number of assistant coaches, student aid given, recruitment costs, and total expenses are significant predictors in both men’s and women’s athletic team revenue. The variable Head Coach Salary did not significantly change the revenue of women’s teams but did negatively affect men’s athletic teams. Findings indicate that various components, particularly those related to athletic funding choices, impact the overall revenue that a team brings in to their university. Further research would have to be done, but it is possible that this could be applied to professional athletic clubs as well. This research is important because it allows us to see how unfair the statement that women’s sports are less popular than men’s sports is because they are not evenly funded. Works Cited Cooky, C., Messner, M. A., & Musto, M. (2015). “it’s dude time!” Communication & Sport, 3(3), 261–287. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167479515588761 Escott, A., Melvin, J., & Sevilla, D. Gender Gap in Athletics.