Circling the Bases

Andrew Zimbalist is Robert A. Woods Professor of Economics at Smith College. He is the author or editor of nineteen previous books, including The Bottom Line: Observations and Arguments on the Sports Business (Temple) and In the Best Interest of Baseball? The Revolutionary Reign of Bud Selig. He is a member of the Editorial Board of The Journal of Sports Economics, and has consulted extensively in the sports industry for players associations, leagues, cities, and owners.

"Andrew Zimbalist's essays in Circling the Bases are not only original, thoughtful and provocative, but they are valuable in showing, again and again, whether in collegiate or professional sports or in the Olympic 'movement,' that so much accepted wisdom about sports economics is, in fact, false. Zimbalist is the best in his field, and he has never spoken so clearly in both dollars and sense." -Frank Deford, Sports Illustrated and NPR Commentator "Circling the Bases...offers a realistic look at the 'merry-go-round' of sports -- including essays about salary shares and revenue distribution, facility financing, labor relations, antitrust law and performance-enhancing drugs... [R]ecommended reading for those inside the league and front offices of all sports... [I]f you are among those who love numbers and love to wax authoritative about the national pastime year-round, Circling the Bases might be an important research piece to become more educated about the business inside sports." -MLB.com

• Preface 1. Introduction: Perspectives on the Sports Industry Toward the Second Decade of the Twenty-First Century 2. Dollar Dilemmas during the Downturn: A Financial Crossroads for College Sports 3. The BCS, Antitrust, and Public Policy 4. Gender Equity in Intercollegiate Athletics: Economic Considerations and Possible Fixes 5. Reflections on Salary Shares and Salary Caps 6. Facility Finance: Measurement, Trends, and Analysis 7. Going for Gold: The Financing and Economic Impact of the Olympic Games 8. Performance-Enhancing Drugs and Antidoping Policy in Major League Baseball: Experience, Incentives, and Challenges Notes Index