Richard Franza, PhD

Faculty, James M. Hull College of Business

  • Augusta GA UNITED STATES

Dr. Richard M. Franza is a professor and former dean of the James M. Hull College of Business.

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Spotlight

3 min

Changes in college football continue to be driven by dollars (and sense?)

The landscape of college sports, and particularly that of college football, has changed significantly in recent years. First, we have seen an almost constant realignment of collegiate athletic conferences, resulting in a few major mega-conferences, such as the SEC and ACC, Big  Ten and Big 12, and the disintegration of a former major conference, the Pac 12. Most of the other changes related to the athletes, such as the ease with which student-athletes could transfer from one school to another and the ability for them to be paid for their name, image and likeness. All of these issues were potentially pointing to new business models in college sports, but within the last week, that landscape was shaken even further. Last week, the NCAA and its five major conferences settled multiple lawsuits to pay past and present student-athletes a total of $2.8 billion. The settlement also laid the foundation for the payments of college athletes starting in fall 2025. “The major unresolved questions are who will get paid and how much,” said Rick Franza, PhD, professor in the Hull College of Business at Augusta University. “If we ‘follow the money,’ we see that football and basketball (particularly men’s basketball) generate almost all of the revenues, and most of the revenues comes from major conferences. Therefore, most of the player payments are going to go to football and basketball, and given the size of the relative rosters, football teams will be much more costly.” Franza added that the settlement will further exasperate the revenue and cost differences between major conferences and their smaller conferences as well as between football and the so-called Olympic sports which generate little, if any revenue. It was always clear that from both a revenue and cost perspective, college football is very different from other sports. Revenues are much higher for the major conferences in football, and there is not the same extent of revenue sharing as there is in basketball due to the NCAA Tournament. On the cost side, with the new realignment of the mega conferences and expanded geographic footprints, there is a significant increase in travel costs for the Olympic sports. “While those expanded conferences were mainly driven by football revenues, they are also making all other sports more costly. Therefore, the time has come to separate football from other sports,” said Franza. One solution was first proposed by Chip Kelly, former Oregon and UCLA head football coach and now Ohio State offensive coordinator. He proposed a 64-school football conference in which the members would share all revenues, including television, which would more easily cover the NIL, and player pay costs. In recent months, similar proposals have been made for a college football “Super League,” which would include up to 80 schools. “This makes too much sense not to happen,” Franza said. “It allows the bigger football schools to share the plentiful available revenues while being able to pay the players what they will demand. At the same time, the other college sports would be able to revert to their traditional, geographical conferences and reduce travel costs driven up by the realigned megaconferences.” He added that two conferences, the SEC and Big Ten, the most successful under the current alignment, could delay the implementation. Franza also predicts that an agreement taking the first steps toward such a structure will be reached sometime in 2024. “While it makes a lot of sense to go in this direction prior to the player settlement, it makes even more dollars and ‘sense’ now given the settlement,” said Franza. “While  the SEC and BigTen currently make more money than any other conference, I think they will see the light for what is best for the future of college football.” Covering the business of sports and looking to know more? Then let us help. Richard Franza, PhD, is available to speak with media about trending issues like inflation, small business and the economy – simply click on his icon now to arrange an interview today.

Richard Franza, PhD

2 min

With the Port of Baltimore all but closed, how will the supply chain be impacted?

Following the incident of the container ship crashing into the Francis Scott Key Bridge at the Port of Baltimore and the bridge collapsing, there are now some supply chain concerns. While they may not be felt right away by consumers, there are a number of businesses that will be affected by it. Rick Franza, PhD, professor in Augusta University's James M. Hull College of Business and an expert on operations and supply chain management, said one immediate impact is where container ships will be diverted to for offloading. The Port of Baltimore is a major shipping hub and ranks first among U.S. ports for autos and light trucks. Now those ships will have to find other ports to unload their goods, which becomes a logistical problem as much as anything. “Most ports on the East Coast are at 70% to 80% capacity, which is where you want to be. You don’t want to have much more than that, but they’re going to have to,” said Franza. “It could affect a good bit of the eastern half of the United States.” Ports in Savannah, Charleston and New York, among others, will have to become the destination for those currently sitting outside Baltimore and those en route from around the world. The good news, Franza said, is that most foreign car manufacturers have plants in the United States so it will likely only affect those consumers looking for a certain brand or even a specific model. Baltimore is also one of the furthest inland ports and has the best rail service coming from it. The outbound goods coming off the ships will now face more of a transportation hurdle when they are diverted to another port. “It’s not just the capacity of the port, that’s one thing, but it’s also their capacity of the outbound items,” he said. “It may be more trucks are needed, and new routes are needed to move inventory. It now becomes a whole different set of providers for the trucks because it’s no longer the people in Baltimore.” Franza added companies will also have to decide which distribution centers they may want to use, whether it’s closer to the area they serve or closer to the port. All those factors affect where the items from overseas end up. While it’s not a good scenario, at the end of the day, he feels the consumer likely won’t see much of an impact. “First of all it’s going to take a while before we see any effect on certain things,” Franza said. “The bad news for inflation is that it’s going to raise the cost of transportation for the goods coming off the ships. Will businesses absorb the cost or pass them along to consumers?” Looking to know more? Then let us help. Richard Franza, PhD, is available to speak with media about trending issues like inflation, small business and the economy – simply click on his icon now to arrange an interview today.

Richard Franza, PhD

2 min

Electric vehicles are hitting the streets, but there are potholes to avoid

No doubt about it, electric vehicles are coming and coming fast. Production of EVs has ramped up in the last couple of years but there are many issues that need to be addressed before they become the everyday choice for consumers. Richard Franza, PhD, professor of management at the Hull College of Business at Augusta University said the timing of EVs is contingent on a few things. “It’s not a question of if they’re coming, but how fast will they be here,” said Franza. “One is the speed at which there is infrastructure built for them. There are still not a lot of places to charge a car. We need more charging stations. Eventually, EVs will be predominant.” Franza added a second hurdle is how fast the federal government moves on emissions requirements that will cause consumers to phase out fossil fuel vehicles. Georgia has become one of the leaders in luring EV manufacturers to call the state home. Not just that, but the state is also drawing in companies that supply batteries and other components. “Any time you build a manufacturing or assembly facility, you automatically get the suppliers around them. Even before Georgia got the vehicle manufacturers, we already had a battery manufacturer, so Georgia already has a good network for the automobile industry,” said Franza. Amazon has already made a major investment in EVs and Franza expects other companies like FedEx and UPS, companies that have a fleet of vehicles, to make the switch to EVs as well, since they have more ability to set up charging networks. The biggest question remains: how long it will take before EVs become more prevalent on the streets? Franza said the answer could depend on who you listen to, but other factors come into play. “Right now, electric vehicles account for less than 1% of the vehicles on the road. So I see two leading indicators – the number of gas stations vs. the number of charging stations, and the production of combustion engines vs. electric vehicles. Look for when the ratios of those really start to change, but it’s not black and white. There are several factors that will go into that and it could take longer than people are saying,” Franza said. Covering EVs and the auto industry? Then let us help. Richard Franza, PhD, is available to speak with media about trending issues like inflation, small business and the economy – simply click on his icon now to arrange an interview today.

Richard Franza, PhD
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Biography

Dr. Richard Franza is a faculty member who formerly served as the dean of the James M. Hull College of Business. Franza's primary areas of expertise are Operations Management (OM), Management of Technology (MOT), and Project Management.

Areas of Expertise

Management
Operations Research
Entreprenuership
Intentional Leadership
Higher Education Leadership
Business

Media Appearances

Port of Baltimore closure and how it could affect the CSRA

WJBF  tv

2024-03-29

Francis Scott Key Bridge’s collapse in Baltimore could have implications for businesses in our area.

The Port of Baltimore is one of the major shipping ports and is the first-place cars, and light trucks are brought before they are distributed throughout the country.

The port closing means cargo ships must relocate where their items will go. Other ports’ capacity could also be an issue. They could get full, which would cause shipping delays and price increases.

“It depends on the capacity of those ports, which are typically below 100 percent, but they typically want to keep them that way because there’s some variance when they arrive and leave, and so it can be kind of full at times,” said Rick Franza, Ph.D., Professor at Augusta University Hull College of Business.

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How will the bridge collapse in Baltimore impact the supply chain?

The Georgia Sun  online

2024-03-28

In the wake of the unexpected collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge at the Port of Baltimore, a pivotal artery for the nation’s supply chain, businesses and consumers alike are bracing for the fallout. The collapse, caused by a container ship’s collision with the bridge, has sparked a logistical scramble to reroute goods, with significant implications for the Eastern Seaboard’s shipping capacity.

The Port of Baltimore, renowned for its efficiency in handling autos and light trucks— leading the U.S. in this sector— now finds its operations in limbo. The immediate task at hand involves diverting ships to alternative ports, a move that Rick Franza, PhD, a professor at Augusta University with a deep understanding of operations and supply chain management, discusses with a note of caution.

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New Hull College dean prioritizes workforce development

The Augusta Chronicle  online

2017-03-18

Dr. Richard Franza, the new dean of Augusta University’s James M. Hull College of Business plans to run the school like, well, a business.

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Answers

Will consumers see an immediate impact from the closure of the Port of Baltimore after the bridge collpase?
Richard Franza, PhD

“First of all it’s going to take a while before we see any effect on certain things. The bad news for inflation is that it’s going to raise the cost of transportation for the goods coming off the ships. Will businesses absorb the cost or pass them along to consumers?”

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The Port of Baltimore was the busiest for cars and light trucks coming from other parts of the world, how will the closure affect outbound goods from the port?
Richard Franza, PhD

“It’s not just the capacity of the port, that’s one thing, but it’s also their capacity of the outbound items. It may be more trucks are needed and new routes are needed to move inventory. It now becomes a whole different set of providers for the trucks because it’s no longer the people in Baltimore.”

Continue reading
How will the bridge collapse in Baltimore affect goods coming in and out of the port?
Richard Franza, PhD

“Most ports on the East Coast are at 70% to 80% capacity, which is where you want to be. You don’t want to have much more than that, but they’re going to have to,” said Franza. “It could affect a good bit of the eastern half of the United States.”

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Articles

ERP implementation failures: a case study and analysis

International Journal of Business Information Systems

2016

Despite the pervasiveness of ERP systems, there is a serious concern regarding the failure of ERP implementations. One explanation for many ERP implementation failures may be 'escalation of commitment'.

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Technology transfer contracts between R&D labs and commercial partners: choose your words wisely

The Journal of Technology Transfer

2012

Our study is motivated by the problems encountered by external collaborators, particularly those between research and development laboratories and commercial partners, when writing technology transfer contracts. Kruskal–Wallis one-way nonparametric Analyses of Variance are used to analyze Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) from a national, Department of Defense laboratory in the United States of America.

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