Southern Utah University Board of Trustees, 2013

Outstanding Scholar

Scholar of the Year, Department of Economics & Finance

Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor

Gender information and perceived quality: An experiment with professional soccer performance

The Gender Wage Gap in Basketball is Bigger than Ever

Sports Economics Must Improve by Including Women in the Data Set

Why Doesn't the NBA Call Cheryl Reeve

The Ugly Side of the Beautiful Game

The WNBA's Orchard Needs More Investment To Bear Fruit In the Future

As Anriel Howard Shows, Underpayment Of Elite Women's Basketball Players Only Begins In College

We Subsidize Men's Sports. Maybe It's Time To Subsidize Women's Sports

Numbers Say The Wisconsin Badgers Really Exploited Hilary Knight

Did Growth Of Women's College Sports Cost Men? Data Says No

Black NFL Coaches Appear Much More Likely To Be Fired With A Winning Record

Stephen Curry Would Hate To Be Paid Like Women In Professional Basketball

The Future Of The WNBA Would Be Helped By Higher Pay Today

Some Popular Sports Sites Appear To Cover More Animals Than Women

Think Women Don't Know Sports? You Don't Know As Much About Sports As You Think

Basketball's Growing Gender Wage Gap: The Evidence The WNBA Is Underpaying Players

The WNBA’s Future Can Be Seen in the NBA’s Past

Donovan Mitchell Appears To Have Learned The Wrong Lesson From Friday Night

The next quantum leap beyond  Moneyball , this book offers powerful new insights into all human decision-making, because if sports teams are getting it wrong this badly, how do you know you're not? Sometimes the decisions that teams make are simply inexplicable. Consider: sports teams have an immense amount of detailed, quantifiable information to draw upon, more than in virtually any other industry. They have powerful incentives for making good decisions. Everyone sees the results of their choices, and the consequences for failure are severe. And yet... they keep making the same mistakes over and over again... systematic mistakes you'd think they'd learn how to avoid. Now, two leading sports economists reveal those mistakes in basketball, baseball, football, and hockey, and explain why sports decision-makers never seem to learn their lessons. You'll learn which statistics are connected to wins, and which aren't, and which statistics can and can't predict the future. Along the way, David Berri and Martin Schmidt show why a quarterback's place in the draft tells you nothing about how he'll perform in the NFL... why basketball decision-makers don't focus on the factors that really correlate with NBA success... why famous coaches don't deliver better results... and much more.

Stumbling On Wins: Two Economists Expose the Pitfalls on the Road to Victory in Professional Sports

Arguing about sports is as old as the games people play. Over the years sports debates have become muddled by many myths that do not match the numbers generated by those playing the games. In The Wages of Wins, the authors use layman's language and easy to follow examples based on their own academic research to debunk many of the most commonly held beliefs about sports. In this updated version of their book, these authors explain why Allen Iverson leaving Philadelphia made the 76ers a better team, why the Yankees find it so hard to repeat their success from the late 1990s, and why even great quarterbacks like Brett Favre are consistently inconsistent. The book names names, and makes it abundantly clear that much of the decision making of coaches and general managers does not hold up to an analysis of the numbers. Whether you are a fantasy league fanatic or a casual weekend fan, much of what you believe about sports will change after reading this book.

The Wages of Wins: Taking Measure of the Many Myths in Modern Sport. Updated Edition (Stanford Business Books)

The Economics of the Super Bowl: Players, Performers, and Cities (Palgrave Pivots in Sports Economics)

Southern Utah University is a caring campus community where students come to explore their interests and prepare for meaningful careers and life experiences. With more than 145 undergraduate programs* and 18 graduate and certificate programs across six academic colleges, SUU proudly offers world-class, project-based learning opportunities where students gain professional experience before entering the job market.

Located in the world’s best backyard, SUU is the University of the Parks thanks to its close proximity to several outdoor recreational areas and its educational partnerships with the National Park Service. SUU’s safe, residential campus allows students - more than 10,000 - to create lifelong friendships along with once-in-a-lifetime outdoor adventures in conjunction with innovative academic endeavors.

Southern Utah University

ECON 1740 US Economic History

ECON 2010 Principles of Microeconomics

ECON 2020 Principles of Macroeconomics

ECON 3010 Managerial Economics

ECON 3230 Gender Economics

ECON 3700 Sports Economics

ECON 4900 Special Topics

Dr. David Berri is a professor of economics at Southern Utah University. He has spent the last two decades researching sports and economics, while publishing works on a variety of topics including the evaluation of players and coaches, competitive balance, the drafting of players, labor disputes, the NCAA, and gender issues in sports.

Dr. Berri was the lead author of "The Wages of Wins and Stumbling on Wins" and recently published "Sports Economics", a textbook from Macmillan Publishers. In the past, he has written on the subject of sports economics for a number of popular media outlets, including the New York Times, the Atlantic.com, Time.com, and Vice Sports. Currently, Dr. Berri is writing for Forbes.com. 

Dr. Berri graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan University with a bachelor of arts in economics and earned both his master of arts and Ph.D. in economics from Colorado State University.

Distrubution of Wealth and Power

Unpaid Athletes in the NCAA

NBA Salary Caps

Sports Economics

NCAA

Gender Wage Gap in Sports

Gender Issues in Sports

Evaluation of Players and Coaches in Sports

Economics

Competitive Balance in Sports

Pay Equality in Sports

Gender Wage Gap in Professional Basketball

Meet Our Professors: David Berri, Economics 

Personal Wikipedia Page

Google Scholar

Research Gate

Economic Discrepancies within America’s Favorite Sports -- A Conversation with David Berri

'Not a risk at all': Why college football coaches are guaranteed more money than ever

The monetization of college sports

The NFL draft is designed to promote parity in the league. That provides an incentive to lose on purpose.

FOX 13 News 360: Making the Utah Jazz champions

You’re Paying for Sports Stadiums You Don’t Even Go To

When collegiate sports are sidelined, schools and local economies take a hit

Fearing cuts, non-revenue college sports look for ways to ‘weather this storm’

Strongest will be ready to seize even more power when crisis ends

The NBA could lose billions this season. Who will eat that loss?

Coronavirus: What will economic hit be for Warriors, Sharks, other Bay Area pro teams?

A typically noisy sports month is silenced by coronavirus cancellations

NCAA asserts collegiate values for bowls, but leaves room for liquor, casino sponsors

We broke down 4 common arguments about equal pay in women’s pro sports

Wages of Wins- Using Sports Analytics to drive better decision making w/David Berri

Can marketing players year-round boost WNBA revenues? How league and union are working to increase player visibility

California Has a New Equal-Pay Act for Athletes

Competition between sports for fans' money and attention is increasingly fierce

Hail to the (Underpaid) Champs: A Long Legacy of Sexism in Sports

The Heat Are Stuck Between A Rock And A Hard Place With Limited Cap Space And Few Trade Assets

Multimillion-dollar deals become more common in squeezeplay era of economic superstars

How NBA salary caps hurt the Toronto Raptors

WNBA players are still treated like second-class citizens. It’s on the NBA to fix that.

Is Overspending Catching Up to These Power 5 Schools?

With NBA Picks, Data Can Only Take You So Far

Why N.H.L. Teams May Not Enjoy the Comforts of Home Ice

Before this Hoops Recruit Chose Indiana, Adidas Made Sure He Stayed Under its Tent

Who Will Cleveland Browns Pick in First Round of 2018 NFL Draft?

Commission on College Basketball Calls for Reforms on One-and-Dones, Undrafted Players

Should Female Athletes Sue the Networks for Equal Coverage?

The changing landscape of college football

What makes TikTok so thirsty for Joe Burrow

lThrifty at the top: Orioles and Rays among MLB’s lowest payrolls, highest win totals

State of NFL Stadiums: Smaller, Pricier, Busier Venues on the Way

New evidence shows how badly NFL teams discriminate against Black QBs in the draft

Toronto billionaire pushing for WNBA team

Ryan Smith teases reimagined downtown SLC with new arena as lawmakers debate billions in subsidies

Phoenix barely broke even on the Valley's Super Bowl. What does that say about the NCAA Final Four?

Why Caleb Williams should prepare for the Cam Newton treatment ahead of NFL draft

FAU Football: Owls take flight in EA College Football 25, releasing Summer 2024

Saudis, PGA Tour and what billions REALLY mean, as told by a leading expert

Super Bowl is a reminder of how family heritage, nepotism still rule the NFL

Would the A's be a home run for Utah?

Hockey fans itching to get hands on Utah NHL merchandise

Would Utahns love the NHL like they love the Jazz?

Why host the Olympics again? For smiles, not dollars

Is Salt Lake City a hockey town?

Caitlin Clark’s staggeringly low starting salary, briefly explained

What the conversation about Caitlin Clark’s pay gets wrong

Why Philly Doesn’t Have a WNBA Team, How to Detect Deepfakes in an Election

Professional Golf Is at a Crossroads. How—and When—Will It Find a Resolution?

The rapidly changing financial game in college sports takes more twists

What You Need to Know About the Dartmouth Basketball Union

Men's pro teams have been getting subsidies for years. Time for women to get them, too.

Utah passed bills for 2 new major league stadiums in Salt Lake City. Now what?

While others might be looking at the end game, Dr. David Berri, professor of economics and Southern Utah University’s expert on sports economics, looks at the actual numbers of the 2018 Super Bowl.

What You Don't Know About the Super Bowl

On Sunday, February 4, the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots will play in the biggest NFL game of the year. While others might be looking at the end game, Dr. David Berri, professor of economics at Southern Utah University and expert on sports economics, looks at the actual numbers of the 2018 Super Bowl.

Comparing the 2014 Super Bowl audience (160 million viewers) to a regular season soccer game between Real Madrid and Barcelona (400 million viewers), Dr. Berri observes that while the Super Bowl is one of the largest sporting events in the U.S., it is nowhere near the biggest sporting event in the world. Another fact they many don’t consider is that almost half of NFL fans are women.

Finished last year, the new U.S. Bank Stadium (costing the city $500 million) in Minneapolis will be host to Super Bowl LII. The hope is that hosting the game will bring economic growth to the city.

“Whether the [economic impact] is $130 million or $404 million, it is important to note the size of the Minneapolis economy. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the Gross Domestic Product of Minneapolis is $246.689 billion. So even if it is $404 million, this economic impact is less than 0.2% of the overall size of the local economy.”

But what about the game? Can numbers offer any insight into who will win next Sunday?

“Despite all you will hear from all the ‘experts’, we really don’t know who is going to win. Football is a very unpredictable game. The best can play poorly. The worst can surprise us.”

According to Dr. Berri what you should know is the players will be trying their best and they are there to play the game.

“The major stars do not get paid much to play this game. Player salaries are for the regular season. There is a bonus for playing this game and players on both teams get a bonus. For the stars – like Tom Brady – the bonus is immensely small compared to their regular season salary.”

“So, for players like Brady, they are playing mostly for the love of the game. Brady and other stars are like the fans. They really like the game.”

Dr. Berri has spent the last two decades researching sports and economics, while publishing works on a variety of topics including the evaluation of players and coaches, competitive balance, the drafting of players, labor disputes, the NCAA, and gender issues in sports. He is familiar with the media and available for an interview. Simply visit his profile.

NFL by the Numbers: What You Don't Know About the Super Bowl

Sports Economics, David Berri

David Berri, Professor of Economics

Department Chair and Professor of Economics 2022

David Berri

sports-economics-textbook-by-suu-professor-receives-new-recognition

Department Chair and Professor of Economics

College is a place where discovery is always on the horizon. There are always new classes and careers in this changing world, and Southern Utah University is dedicated to helping students prepare for their future careers. Reading assigned text is the easiest and most common way to attain success. Textbooks are written by professionals in the field and can provide lots of insight and information to lead students to academic success and enrichment beyond the classroom. Dr. David Berri is an economics professor at SUU and has recently received renewed recognition for his writings in the 2018 publication of the Sports Economics textbook released by Macmillan, one of the most prominent names in academic publishing. Dr. Berri specializes in sports economics, having spent over two decades researching competitive balance, gender issues in sports, the NCAA, drafting labor, evaluating player and coach performance, and much more. He was also the lead author on two other books; The Wages of Wins (2006) and Stumbling on Wins (2010).  Along with teaching, Dr. Berri has continued his writings focusing on sports economics for several prestigious websites, including, but not limited to the New York Times, Atlantic.com, Time.com, Vice Sports, and currently Forbes.com. “This new recognition is great,” Dr. Berri stated. “This textbook took me six years to write and now over 60 schools have implemented it into their curriculum.” Currently, Dr. Berri is working on a couple of new academic textbooks for subjects within his sphere of expertise. “I’m working on two more textbooks at the moment. One is centered around women in sports, and isn’t quite finished yet. The other is set to publish  soon, and it’s about economics and popular films.”Dr. Berri is familiar with the media and is available for an interview. 

Sports Economics Textbook by SUU Professor Receives New Recognition

nostalgia-for-university-traditions-increases-alumni-donations

“Something that’s really bizarre about American education is that a lot of the alumni connection to their university is through their sports teams,” said Dr. David Berri, professor of economics at Southern Utah University. “It’s supposed to be an educational institution, not a sports team. So it’s really bizarre that you take away the sports and you take away the alumni connection.”This rings true for Paul Marino, CC ’74, a former member of the baseball and football teams. Before the pandemic, Marino bought tickets to attend Columbia men’s basketball games as a way to support the University—something he has been doing for almost 50 years since his graduation.“I played football here and we had some tough years,” Marino said in an interview back in February. “It sounds corny, but it is my alma mater and I like to support the school in any way I can.”Berri noted that for many students, the connection to a university stems from a football team rather than the academics. First-year students often have little face-to-face interaction with professors in their introductory classes. While students may be one of thousands in the stands, positive memories at games and the camaraderie surrounding them provide the students with a personalized connection.“So what people are realizing is that the educational experience isn’t actually that good,” Dr. Berri said. “However, the students keep coming to these institutions because they get to go to the football game. Your first-year history class is going to be awful. But what about that football? … The key thing is emotional attachments—that’s what brings the students to campus and what keeps the alumni connected.”Read the full article: Dr. Berri has spent the last two decades researching sports and economics, while publishing works on a variety of topics including the evaluation of players and coaches, competitive balance, the drafting of players, labor disputes, the NCAA, and gender issues in sports. 

Nostalgia for University Traditions Increases Alumni Donations

why-the-ncaa-needs-to-pay-college-athletes

College athletes risk serious injury, some with lifelong complications, to play a sport while the university and coaches make millions. The potential for career-ending injury alone is enough of a reason to allow college athletes to receive compensation and Tua Tagovailoa’s case is the perfect example.Alabama standout quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered a season-ending injury last Saturday that likely ended his collegiate playing career. Tagovailoa, in his junior season, suffered a dislocated hip in a lopsided victory over Mississippi State and underwent successful surgery on Monday in Houston.Although doctors anticipate a full recovery, Tagovailoa’s college season is over and his NFL stock value is considerably lower. Once a definitive top draft pick, Tagovailoa’s value is dependent on his anticipated recovery, not to mention getting back into football shape.Tagovailoa’s devastating injury is just another check mark to add to the list of reasons why college athletes should be compensated.Imagine if Tagovailoa could have been compensated during his time at Alabama. After all, the Alabama football program boasted a revenue of $111.1 million for the 2018 fiscal year. What would Tagovailoa have been paid if the NCAA rules didn’t restrict his compensation to the cost of attending school?The major North American men sports leagues tend to shell out about 50% of its revenue to its players. David Berri, sports economist and professor of economics at Southern Utah University, estimated that if Alabama followed this practice, the school would be giving about $55.55 million to its players. With 127 players on the roster, the average player on the Crimson Tide would be paid $437,410.Of course, the starting quarterback is not an average player. In the NFL, the average starting quarterback is paid 3.81 times more than an average player. Berri calculated that this would mean that Tagovailoa should have been paid $1,666,473 at Alabama.When you consider that Tagovailoa one of the very best college quarterbacks, his estimated value goes up even higher. The five highest-paid NFL quarterbacks are paid 10.18 times more than an average quarterback. Berri comments that this means that Tagovailoa could arguably have been worth $4,455,591 prior to his injury. While it may be unrealistic to assume that Tagovailoa would be a top-five quarterback in the NFL, it is not unrealistic to realize that his potential earning capacity has been substantially lowered due to his injury playing college football where he was not able to earn any money at all. Dr. Berri has spent the last two decades researching sports and economics, while publishing works on a variety of topics including the evaluation of players and coaches, competitive balance, the drafting of players, labor disputes, the NCAA, gender wage gap in sports, and distribution of wealth and power.

Why the NCAA needs to pay college athletes

At Southern Utah University, professors are passionate about their fields of study and continually strive to create a classroom environment that encourages growth and rigor. 

Located in Cedar City, Southern Utah University is in the heart of Utah's color country region. Distinguished above others for its focus on personalized education, SUU prepares its students to achieve excellence in their chosen field and create positive change in the world. 

http://www.suu.edu

Southern Utah University
351 West University Boulevard
Cedar City, UT 84720
435.586.7700

Meet Our Professors: David Berri, Economics

Helping you choose which major to study and ultimately jumpstarting your college career, SUU is here with the unbiased opinion on each of its majors. This video highlights what an economics student will experiences in the classroom, what careers are available and what types of student excel from the perspective of SUU professor Dave Berri. 

David Berri is the author or co-author of more than 50 articles (appearing in peer reviewed journals or academic collections) on sports and economics. Lead author of two books — "The Wages of Wins" and "Stumbling on Wins" — on sports and economics. On the editorial board of the Journal of Sports Economics and the International Journal of Sport Finance and past president of the North American Association of Sports Economists. Has also written for The New York Times, Time.com, and theAtlantic.com (among others).

www.suu.edu

Southern Utah University
351 West University Boulevard
Cedar City, UT 84720
435.586.7700

Major Decisions: Economics

Ahead of the FIFA Women's World Cup taking place in Australia and New Zealand, revisit my conversation with Dr. David Berri and answer the question that reply guys on Twitter love to ask: are women's sports boring and unprofitable or does sexism negatively influence investing, coverage, merchandise, TV deals, and more?

  Follow along on the internet: https://www.instagram.com/tcbrpod/  https://twitter.com/TCBRpod https://substack.com/@tcbrpod 

 Follow Rhian on the internet: https://twitter.com/RhiansHope  https://www.instagram.com/rhianshope 

 More about David: David Berri is professor of economics at Southern Utah University who has spent the last 25 years researching sports and economics. He is the lead author of "The Wages of Wins" (Stanford Press, 2006) and "Stumbling on Wins" (Financial Times Press, 2010). In addition, he is the sole author of "Sports Economics", a textbook with Macmillan Publishers (2018). He is also a co-author of a book called "The Economics of the Super Bowl" (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020). Beyond these books he has authored or co-authored more than 70 academic papers. This work covers a wide variety of topics in sports economics including the evaluation of players and coaches, competitive balance, the drafting of players, labor disputes, college sports, and gender issues. This last issue is the primary focus of much of his recent research and writing. In the past, he has written on the subject of sports economics for a number of popular media outlets, including the New York Times, the Atlantic.com, Time.com, Vice Sports, and Forbes.

From the archives: The Economics of Women's Sports with Dr. David Berri

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