Unsportsmanlike Conduct: The National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Business of College Football

Lawrence, an economist, football fan, and official, is an authoritative and astute critic of what is wrong with football in higher education as regulated by the NCAA. Lawrence believes the NCAA has become a cartel that keeps expenses low by rewarding the players almost nothing comparable to their contribution. . . . This is not the book for a novice interested in the razzle-dazzle of sports, but it is highly recommended for one who wants to understand the present situation and efforts, some misguided, to control the sport. Lawrence makes an in-depth analysis of the symbiotic relationship between football, the NCAA, and academia. The most valuable part of the book is that Lawrence, after carefully defining the situation, suggests some solutions. ChoiceUnsportsmanlike Conduct is the first single source to trace the history of the 80-year old National Collegiate Athletic Association and to explain its growth from a small group seeking safer football rules to the large powerful regulatory body that it is today. This volume not only provides a unique view, but also an economic analysis of the college athletic industry. The author examines the development of American college football since the late 1800s and shows how the NCAA has turned intercollegiate football into a multi-million dollar industry. By viewing the structure of this organization from an economic perspective, he demonstrates that the NCAA has acted like many other collusive groups of producers in order to maximize their financial interests by exploiting consumers, employees, and particularly athletes.