ECC2450 Sports economics
Faculty of Business and Economics
ECC2450 Sports economics is a level 2, 6-credit-point, undergraduate unit from the Faculty of Business and Economics, offered in 2025 in Semester 1 at Clayton. It needs ECC1000, ECF1100, ECB1101 or ECW1101.
- Credit points
- 6
- Offered in 2025
- Semester 1
- Clayton
- Assessment
- No exam
- 1 task
- Workload
- 144 hours
- per semester
This is the 2025 handbook entry. See the 2027 entry.
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Requisites
Before ECC2450
Prerequisites
Pass these before you enrol.
After ECC2450
No unit lists ECC2450 as a prerequisite in the 2025 handbook.
Enrolment rules
To be successful in this unit, background knowledge and application of maths is required at the equivalent of VCE Year 12 level. You may have satisfied this by completing relevant prerequisite unit/s, or you have covered relevant topics in your final years of secondary study. You should self-assess your maths competency prior to enrolling in this unit.
Overview
The purpose of this unit is to understand how economics affects sport. We begin by focussing on the importance of sport to the economy. Microeconomic principles are then applied to various sports in order to understand the concept of comparative advantage in sport, whether ticket prices are set to maximise profit, and whether the method of ticket distribution leads to scalping. The sports broadcasting rights market is analysed to help explain the growth in sports leagues revenues. Sports leagues not only set player rules and fixtures, but negotiate the business side of sports such as TV rights, collective bargaining agreements, strategic location of teams, and public subsidies. Whether clubs and teams are profit maximisers or win-maximisers is important, because this can impact outcomes in sport and whether sports league policies are effective. Evenness of competition is a goal of many sporting bodies, commonly known as the uncertainty of outcome hypothesis. This gives rise to consideration of the concept and measurement of competitive balance, and the effectiveness of policies to address competitive imbalance, such as reverse-order player drafts and the invariance principle, team salary caps, gate revenue sharing, league revenue sharing, league expansion and contraction, and relegation and promotion. The player labour market is analysed to explain player pay, and tournament theory is used to explain rewards in individual sports. A much-debated issue is the economic impact of mega sports events and the case for government subsidy. Case studies of professional team sports leagues and individual sports in Australia and overseas are used throughout to illustrate the application of the economics principles developed in the unit.
Offerings in 2025
| Teaching period | Campus | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| First semester | Clayton | On campus |
Assessment
- Within semester assessment100%
Learning outcomes
When you finish this unit, you should be able to:
- 1
analyse how economics affects stakeholders in both individual sports and team sports leagues
- 2
evaluate the impact of different government, sporting organisation, league, and club policies on the sports industry
- 3
compare and contrast how different institutional arrangements and organisational practices impact on sport in Australia and overseas
- 4
apply the economic principles learned to identify and analyse issues in sport and present workable policy solutions.
Workload and teaching
- Workshops24 hours
- Teaching approachProblem-based learning
- Teaching approachActive learning
- Teaching approachEnquiry-based learning
- Teaching approachResearch activities
Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. Independent study may include associated readings, assessment and preparation for scheduled activities. You are expected to complete all pre-class activities prior to your scheduled class, and post-class activities should be completed after your scheduled class. Learning activities may include a combination of teacher directed, peer directed and online engagement activities.
This unit includes problem-based learning approaches, where you engage in research, integrate theory and practice and apply knowledge and skills to develop viable solutions in response to a problem or set of problems.
This unit engages you in actively applying your knowledge, skills and attributes in interactive, collaborative and reflective activities.
This unit engages you in enquiry-based learning, where you will be encouraged to use your own knowledge to develop and engage in a process of enquiry, study and research to identify areas to be investigated and an approach to doing so.
This unit allows you to develop your research skills by engaging in structured inquiry using a systematic approach and discipline-specific methodologies.
Where it fits
ECC2450 is part of 1 area of study in the 2025 handbook.
Contacts
- Chief Examiners
- Associate Professor Lionel Frost
Common questions
What are the prerequisites for ECC2450?
You need ECC1000, ECF1100, ECB1101 or ECW1101 before you enrol. Enrolment rules also apply.
When is ECC2450 offered?
In 2025, ECC2450 runs in Semester 1 at Clayton.
How much work is ECC2450?
The handbook expects about 144 hours of study across the semester. No students have rated its difficulty yet.
Does ECC2450 have an exam?
No. ECC2450 has 1 assessment task and no exam.
Which majors and minors include ECC2450?
ECC2450 is part of Economics.