Question

The NCAA uses an academic standard policy for initial eligibility and continuing eligibility, along with the Academic Progress Rates (APR) for teams, as methods to regulate intercollegiate athletics. Explain how these might act as barriers to entry and increase the “market power” of certain schools relative to other schools. Include a conceptual example in your explanation, meaning you do not have to use an actual situation but create a hypothetical one.

Answer 1

Barriers to entry basically refers to stoppages which others may have from entering a particular business or institution as in this case. In the case described, the NCAA uses a continuous method to evaluate students for participation in intercollege athletics. These types of assessments are based on individual measurement rather than actual performance measurement and thus would prohibit certain people from being able to access these schools.

Further, anyone who has the potential of learning would not be included in the school at the first and they would only select those students which have relatively higher performance right from the very start. Further, people who tend to have an advantage over their performance would choose to go to these colleges rather than attend regular schools which do not have such criteria over prestige and other similar variables.

Considering the present situation, all good athletes would be self-selected and they would thus prefer to go into NCAA. Other schools would have the obvious disadvantage that they would not be the first choice for people.

Thus, by raising entry gates into the institution the NCAA has acted as a barrier and the market power is because people then would prefer to go to them up and above other institutions respectively.

Please feel free to ask your doubts in the comments section if any.