Authors: Jeffrey S. Noble*, Martin M. Perline, G. Clayton Stoldt

Institutional Affiliation of Authors: Wichita State University

*Corresponding Author:
Jeff Noble, Ed.D
Department of Sport Management
Wichita State University
1845 Fairmount
Wichita, Kansas 67260-0127
Email: jeffrey.noble@wichita.edu
Phone: (316)978-5442

Abstract
Conference realignment among athletic programs that compete at the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has been prevalent among various institutions over the past decade, particularly among institutions that sponsor football. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects on competitive balance when a conference lost member institutions who chose to join other conferences, and then added new institutions to replace those which had departed. Specifically, the effects on competitive balance in football in the Big 12 Conference, which lost four members and replaced with two additional schools, were examined. Using the standard deviation as our measure of competitive balance it was discovered that competition among the football programs were not as competitively balanced as before the initial realignment began.

Keywords: college athletics, conference realignment, economic inequality

(more…)