A Benford Analysis of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Finance Data

Abstract

The Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA) database and the USA Today NCAA athletics department finance database are two of the most commonly used databases for scholars, policy makers, and other constituents interested in studying the economics of college athletics. Many in the higher education community, however, question the validity of these databases. This study used Benford’s Law of First Digits as a tool for spotting irregularities in EADA and USA Today college athletics financial data. After reviewing 5 years of data, the findings show that while there was some slight deviation from Benford’s Law, EADA and USA Today data largely conformed to the expectations of Benford’s Law.

Googling for Sports:

“…Moreover, Childs et al ( 2022) articulated how larger, wealthier NCAA programs spend much more on their websites than other programs, increasing this sense of digital stratification. Inequitable structures also exist regarding NCAA program finances, as researchers have long found that Division I NCAA programs support expensive athletic scholarships (Jones, 2020), raise millions for capital campaigns (Humphreys & Mondello, 2007), and spend millions on multimedia and advertising (Kittle, 2000) that their Division II and III peers cannot afford (Jones, 2020).…”