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The Impact of College Sports Success on the Quantity and Quality of Student Applications

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  • Devin G. Pope
  • Jaren C. Pope

Abstract

Empirical studies have produced mixed results on the relationship between a school's sports success and the quantity and quality of students that apply to the school. This study uses two unique data sets to shed additional light on the indirect benefits that sports success provides to NCAA Division I schools. Key findings include the following: (1) football and basketball success significantly increases the quantity of applications to a school, with estimates ranging from 2% to 8% for the top 20 football schools and the top 16 basketball schools each year, (2) private schools see increases in application rates after sports success that are two to four times higher than public schools, (3) the extra applications received are composed of both low and high SAT scoring students, thus providing potential for schools to improve their admission outcomes, and (4) schools appear to exploit these increases in applications by improving both the number and the quality of incoming students.

Suggested Citation

  • Devin G. Pope & Jaren C. Pope, 2009. "The Impact of College Sports Success on the Quantity and Quality of Student Applications," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 75(3), pages 750-780, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:soecon:v:75:y:2009:i:3:p:750-780
    DOI: 10.1002/j.2325-8012.2009.tb00930.x
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    4. Carl Singleton & Adrian r. Bell & Andy Chung & J. James Reade & Andrew Urquhart, 2024. "Scoring goals: The impact of English Premier League football teams on local university admissions," Economics Discussion Papers em-dp2024-02, Department of Economics, University of Reading.
    5. Sarah Marx Quintanar & Cary Deck & Javier A. Reyes & Sudipta Sarangi, 2015. "You Are Close To Your Rival And Everybody Hates A Winner : A Study Of Rivalry In College Football," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 53(4), pages 1908-1918, October.
    6. Austin F. Eggers & Peter A. Groothuis, 2021. "The Impact of Winning an NCAA Men's Basketball or Football Championship on Academic Quality," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 41(2), pages 263-275.
    7. Angxuan Chen & Huaiya Liu & Kam-Cheong Li & Jiyou Jia, 2023. "For Educational Inclusiveness: Design and Implementation of an Intelligent Tutoring System for Student-Athletes Based on Self-Determination Theory," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-12, October.
    8. Michael L. Anderson, 2017. "The Benefits of College Athletic Success: An Application of the Propensity Score Design," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 99(1), pages 119-134, March.
    9. David Ong, 2022. "The college admissions contribution to the labor market beauty premium," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 40(3), pages 491-512, July.
    10. Christopher D. Blake & Danna Kang Thomas & Joshua Hess, 2024. "Higher education: The impact of recreational marijuana on college applications," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 42(2), pages 259-277, April.
    11. Matt Ryan Huml & N David Pifer & Caitlin Towle & Cheryl R Rode, 2019. "If we build it, will they come? The effect of new athletic facilities on recruiting rankings for power five football and men's basketball programs," Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(1), pages 1-18, January.
    12. Bryson R. Pope & Nolan G. Pope, 2015. "Own-Nationality Bias: Evidence From Uefa Champions League Football Referees," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 53(2), pages 1292-1304, April.
    13. Craig McFarland & Peter A. Groothuis & Dennis Guignet, 2024. "The role of football win percentage on college applications for Power Five and Group of Five schools," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 42(3), pages 474-482, July.
    14. Aucejo, Esteban M. & French, Jacob & Zafar, Basit, 2023. "Estimating students’ valuation for college experiences," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    15. Richard Borghesi, 2017. "Pay for play: the financial value of NCAA football players," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(46), pages 4657-4667, October.
    16. Laura Beaudin, 2018. "Examining the Relationship Between Athletic Program Expenditure and Athletic Program Success Among NCAA Division I Institutions," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 19(7), pages 1016-1045, October.
    17. Jeremy M. Losak & Benjamin J. Posmanick & Raymond D. Sauer, 2024. "On the Value of a Premium College Football Player: Evaluating the Literature," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 25(4), pages 472-506, May.
    18. Behera, Sarthak & Sadana, Divya, 2022. "The Impact of Visibility on School Athletic Finances: An Empirical Analysis using Google Trends," MPRA Paper 114818, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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