Date of Award

5-31-2026

Document Type

Open Access Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Education/Higher Education PhD

First Advisor

Jay Dee

Second Advisor

Monnica Chan

Third Advisor

Willis Jones

Abstract

In 2015, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) authorized Division I institutions to provide Cost-of-Attendance (COA) stipends to student-athletes, marking the first NCAA-endorsed form of direct athlete compensation. Critics warned that institutions would inflate COA estimates to offer larger stipends, potentially increasing student loan borrowing among the broader student population. Drawing on Bowen's (1980) revenue theory of cost and O'Meara's (2007) theory of striving institutions, this dissertation examines whether Group of 5 and FBS independent institutions increased their published COA following stipend adoption, and whether Power 5 institutions experienced downstream effects on student loan debt.

Results indicate null effects across nearly all specifications. Group of 5 and FBS independent institutions did not exhibit statistically significant COA increases; point estimates suggest small, inflation-adjusted decreases. Among Power 5 institutions, student loan debt measures fluctuated but showed no consistent pattern of significant increases. These findings are robust to alternative specifications, matching algorithms, and fixed effects structures.

The absence of effects likely reflects bureaucratic barriers, resource constraints, and heterogeneous institutional responses that constrain prestige-seeking behavior in ways not fully anticipated by existing theoretical frameworks.

As college athletics continues to transform through name, image, and likeness rights and the House v. NCAA (2025) revenue-sharing settlement, this research underscores the need for rigorous empirical scrutiny of the NCAA's governance practices and its historical role in structuring an inequitable economic system within intercollegiate athletics.

Comments

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