The Impact of Winning an NCAA Basketball Championship on Applications, Enrollment, and Academic Quality

Objective: We analyze how winning a national championship in men’s basketball influences both the quantity and academic quality of students attending the university. Methods: We use a fixed effect regression technique on a fourteen-year panel data set of universities to analyze the influence of winning a men’s basketball national championship on a university’s admissions and academic profile. Using this technique, we examine if student applications, admissions rate, academic yield or academic quality changes at the victorious institution. Results: Our findings suggest that winning a national championship has no effect on applications nor the admissions rate at a school, but does increase the enrollment yield for both male and female students. We also find that there is a slight increase in the quality of students who enroll as measured by academic test scores and high school rank. Conclusion: Our results indicate that winning an NCAA men’s basketball national championship does not serve to increase the number of applications or admissions rate to a school. The relatively minor increases in student quality and enrollment outlined in this study seem to contradict the idea that a successful men’s basketball program, as measured by winning a national championship, could be used as a marketing tool by a university to enhance its academic profile. Key Words: