Using a panel study of universities, we find that football success, as measured either by an upset win or winning a national championship, increases applications and enrollment at a university. Surprisingly, we further find that losing an upset game also increases student enrollment numbers. When examining the academic quality of incoming students following one of these events, we encounter mixed results. Our findings indicate that winning a national championship lowers the number of students enrolling at a school from the top 10%, and between the top 10% to top 25%, of their high school class. However, we also find that winning either a national championship or an upset victory increases the average high school grade point average of students who choose to enroll at the school. Overall, our results suggest that athletics serve as a consumption amenity, leading students to apply and enroll at the university.
AndersonM. L. (2016). The benefits of college athletic success: An application of the propensity score design.National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc., Working Paper 18196.
BaumerB., &, ZimbalistA. (2019). The impact of college athletic success on donations and applicant quality. International Journal of Financial Studies, 7(2), 1–23.
4.
CaudillS. B., HouricanS., & MixonF. G. (2018). Does college football impact the size of university applicant pools and the quality of entering students?Applied Economics, 50(17), 1885–1890.
5.
ChungD. J. (2013). The dynamic advertising effect of collegiate athletics. Marketing Science, 32(5), 679–698.
6.
CollierT., HaskellN., RotthoffK. W., & BakerA. (2020). The "Cinderella Effect": The value of unexpected March Madness runs as advertising for the schools. Journal of Sports Economics, 21(8), 783–807
7.
GoffB. (2000). Effects of university athletics on the university: A review and extension of empirical assessment. Journal of Sports Management, 14(2), 85–104.
8.
HansenJ. M. (2011). The effects of athletic success on college enrollment applications [Master's thesis]. Texas Tech University.
9.
HickmanD. C, & MeyerA. G. (2016). Does athletic success influence persistence at higher education institutions? New evidence using panel data. Contemporary Economic Policy, 35(4), 658–676.
10.
JacobB., McCallB., & StrangeK. (2018). College as country club: Do colleges cater to students’ preferences for consumption?Journal of Labor Economics, 36(2), 309–348.
11.
JonesA. (2009). Athletics, applications, and yields. College and University, 85(2), 10–19.
12.
McCormickR. E., & TinsleyM. (1987). Athletics versus academics? Evidence from SAT scores. Journal of Political Economy, 9(5), 1103–1116.
13.
McEvoyC. (2005). The relationship between dramatic changes in team performance and undergraduate admissions applications. The SMART Journal, 2(1), 17–24.
14.
MixonF. G.Jr. (1995). Athletics verses academics? Rejoining the evidence from SAT scores. Education Economics, 3(3), 277–283.
15.
MixonF. G.Jr., & ResslerR. W. (1995). An empirical note on the impact of college athletics on tuition revenues. Applied Economics Letters, 2, 383–387
16.
MixonF. G.Jr., & TrevionL. J. (2005). From kickoff to commencement: The positive role of intercollegiate athletics in higher education. Economics of Education Review, 24(1), 97–102.
17.
MixonF. G.Jr., TrevinoL. J., &MintoT. C. (2004). Touchdowns and test scores: Exploring the relationship between athletics and academics. Applied Economics Letters, 11(7), 421–424.
18.
MulhollandS. E., TomicA., & ScholanderS. N. (2014). The faculty Flutie factor: Does football performance affect a university's News U.S. and World Report peer assessment score?Economics of Education Review, 43, 79–90.
19.
MurphyR. G., & TrandelG. A. (1994). The relation between a university's football record and the size of its applicant pool. Economics of Education Review, 13(3), 265–270.
20.
Peterson-HornerE., & EcksteinR. (2015). Challenging the "Flutie Factor": Intercollegiate sports, undergraduate enrollments, and the neo-liberal university. Humanity and Society, 39(1), 64–85.
21.
PopeD. G., & PopeJ. C. (2009). The impact of college sports success on the quantity and quality of student applications. Southern Economic Journal, 75(3), 750–780.
22.
PopeD. G., & PopeJ. C. (2014) Understanding college application decisions: Why college sports success matters. Journal of Sports Economics, 15(2), 107–131.
23.
SandersonA. R., & SiegfriedJ. J. (2018). The national collegiate athletic association cartel: Why it exists, how it works, and what it does. Review of Industrial Organization, 52(2), 185–209.
24.
SeguraJ. J., & WinnerJ. (2018). The game is good at the top. Journal of Sports Economics, 19(5), 645–676.
25.
SmithD. (2008). Big-time college basketball and the advertising effect: Does success really matter?Journal of Sports Economics, 9(4), 387–406.
26.
SmithD. (2009). College football and student quality: An advertising effect or culture and tradition?The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 68(2), 553–580.
27.
SwoffordJ., MixonF., & GreenT. (2009). Can a sub-optimal tournament be optimal when the prize can be collectively consumed? The case of college football's National Championship. Applied Economics, 41, 3215–3223.
28.
TrenkampB. A. (2009). Does the advertising effect of athletics impact athletic rankings?Applied Economic Letters, 16(4), 373–378.
29.
TomaJ., & CrossM. (1998). Intercollegiate athletics and student college choice: Exploring the impact of championship seasons on undergraduate applications. Research in Higher Education, 39(6), 633–661.
TuckerI. B., & AmatoL. T. (2006). A reinvestigation of the relationship between big time basketball success and average SAT scores. Journal of Sports Economics, 7(4), 428–440.
