Recently, students in the Sports Business Management MBA program were visited by Professor Rodney Fort, a noted author and sports economist in the School of Economic Sciences at Washington State University.
Author of numerous sports textbooks, including the popular Sports Economics, Fort talked about his interest in the sports industry and his rise to prominence as one of the nation’s top sports economists.
Mr. Fort also discussed historical competitive balance, the impact of marginal revenue on both small and large market teams, and the revenue potential of small market clubs.
The students learned about tracking inequality and revenue imbalance in the major sports leagues and discussed policy suggestions for obtaining an optimal level of competitive balance.
After this conversation, Fort presented an in-depth analysis of the recent NHL lockout, pointing out how the economic incentives of both the NHL owners and players interacted to create one of the longest sports work stoppages in recent history.
San Diego State University is thankful to Mr. Fort for spending an afternoon with the Sports Business Management MBA students and providing them with an expert analysis of the economics of the sports business.
