The Economics of Sport
  • Sports Economics
  • About
  • Workshop
  • Selected Publications
  • Book Reviews
  • A Primer on Gaelic Games
  • Upcoming Events
  • Media
  • Education
  • Resources & Links
  • Data

Rod Fort Retirement

12/4/2022

 
By Robbie Butler

I had the privilege of being part of a very special occasion on Saturday when Rodney Fort – University of Michigan – delivered a retirement lecture on his near 40 year involvement in economics and sports economics. The lecture was part of a series of presentations, organised and hosted by Stefan Szymanski, highlighting Rod’s contributions to the field.

Attendees included Joel Maxcy, Dennis Coates, Steve Ross, Jason Winfree, Victor Matheson, Brad Humphreys, Jane Ruseski, Ryan Pinheiro and Neil Longley. Others joined online including Placido Rodriguez, Roger Noll and Young Hoon Lee. A fitting group to celebrate Rod’s enormous contribution to the field.

And this cannot be understated. The expression “He wrote the textbook” is sometimes used to describe an academic that knows a lot about their field. In Rod’s case this is literally true. He wrote the textbook in sports economics (Paul Downward and Pete Dawson share this honour).

Rod is one of the first – if not the first - sports economists to retire who’s entire career has spanned sports economics. As the field started to emerged rapidly in the early 1970s, academics began to publish in the area. Many of these had long established careers and published in different areas pre- and post-sports their economics papers. Rod’s contributions span the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and now 2020s. He’s works are part of the formative development of the field.

Three in particular stand out.

Fort, R., & Quirk, J. (1995). Cross-subsidization, incentives, and outcomes in professional team sports leagues in the Journal of Economic Literature is a masterclass. It is cited more than 1,000 times. The other two are his books with Jim Quirk – Pay Dirt (1992) and Hardball (1999). In many respects, both were ahead of their time.  Combined, the two are cited more than 1,000 times.

As Rod finished his lecture on Saturday he confirmed that he would continue researching in the field. This is the beauty of academia and I was delighted to here him say it. Rod has been a pleasure to collaborate with in recent years and has been very supportive of our work in Cork and the many contributions on this blog. His visited to us in 2017 is fondly recalled by many here.

I wish Rod the very best in the next stage of his career and look forward to seeing his next wave of research in the years ahead. Well done Rod!

Comments are closed.

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013

    About

    This website was founded in July 2013.

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    American Football
    Athletics
    Baseball
    Basketball
    Behavioural Economics
    Boxing
    Broadcasting
    Competitive Balance
    Cricket
    Cycling
    Darts
    David Butler
    Declan Jordan
    Drugs
    Ed Valentine
    Epl
    Esports
    Expenditure
    F1
    Fifa World Cup
    Finances
    Funding
    Gaa
    Gaelic Games
    Gambling
    Game Theory
    Gary Burns
    Geography
    Golf
    Greyhound Racing
    Guest Posts
    Horse Racing
    Impact Studies
    John Considine
    John Eakins
    League Of Ireland
    Location
    Media
    Mls
    Mma
    Olympics
    Participation
    Paul O'Sullivan
    Premier League
    Regulation
    Research
    Robbie Butler
    Rugby
    Simpsonomics
    Snooker
    Soccer
    Spatial Analysis
    Sporting Bodies
    Stephen Brosnan
    Swimming
    Taxation
    Teaching
    Technology
    Tennis
    Transfers
    Uefa
    Ufc
    World Cup
    Wwe

Related

The website is not formally affiliated to any institution and all of the entries represent the personal views and opinions of an individual contributor. The website operates on a not-for-profit basis. For this reason we decline all advertisement opportunities. 

Contact

To contact us email sportseconomics2013@gmail.com or find us on Twitter @SportEcon.