The Impact of the Bowl Championship Series on Competitive Balance in Major College Football

Abstract

How effective is the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at achieving competitive balance among its conferences in major college football? There is mixed literature on the ability of the NCAA to achieve competitive balance. This paper contributes to that literature by examining the effect of the 2014 transition from the Bowl Championship Series to the College Football Playoff on competitive balance in major college football, as measured by win-loss percentages and the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index from 2005-2022. A difference-indifferences estimation is used to measure the effects of the change in post-season play on conference competitiveness. The results show that the NCAA's transition to the College Football Playoffs reduced the overall competitive balance in major college football. The effects of competitive balance on bowl or championship success are also examined, but results show there is little correlation between competitive balance and bowl or championship success.

Keywords: NCAA, Sports Management, Cartels, HHI, College Football Playoffs JEL Codes: Z20, Z21, D22, L13, L22

JEL Classification: Z20, Z21, D22, L13, L22