The economic contribution of Grizzly Athletics.

• Author: Barkey, Patrick M.
• Position: RESEARCH - Statistical data

Intercollegiate athletics play a major role in colleges and universities, individual communities and American culture. At the individual level, participation in intercollegiate athletics by student-athletes represents an opportunity for young men and women to grow, develop and ultimately realize their potential. The high visibility and popularity of organized sports activities have projected the brand of conferences and individual educational institutions into the limelight in ways that have benefited everything from student recruitment to alumni involvement. And the business activity surrounding college sports in the American economy has grown to support what has become a multibillion dollar industry.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Communities that are home to colleges and universities that participate in intercollegiate athletics stand to reap considerable economic gain from those activities. These gains are both tangible and intangible. The spending and income flow that intercollegiate athletics at a local college or university add to the local economy can be directly measured and assessed. The ultimate benefits of media exposure, visitor impressions and branding that a community may experience due to its university athletic activities are harder to assess, but no less important.

This article summarizes a recent study conducted by the Bureau of Business and Economic Research on behalf of the University of Montana's Department of Athletics, which examined the contribution of Grizzly Athletics to the Missoula economy. The study utilized financial records, attendance records and a survey of spending conducted over the fall of 2015 to assess the financial footprint of UM's intercollegiate athletic activity. We then used an economic model to estimate how that activity translates into a larger economy.

About Grizzly Athletics

The University of Montana is a member of the Big Sky Conference and affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Grizzly Athletics has had a long history of success both on and off the field in men's and women's sports. With the addition of women's softball beginning competition in 2015, it now encompasses five men's and eight women's sports teams. In the fall of 2016, UM landed 58 student-athletes on the Big Sky Conference All-Academic teams and held a student-athlete wide grade point average of over 3.0. UM also announced and broke ground on a $14 million training facility, the Washington-Grizzly Champions Center, that includes a state-of-the-art weight room, as well as a new locker room and meeting space for the UM football team.

According to a recently published ranking of college and university athletic programs, Grizzly Athletics' revenue...