Research: sports success = more applicants

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussions' started by Daniel Luechtefeld, Mar 25, 2008.

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  1. Daniel Luechtefeld

    Daniel Luechtefeld New Member

    What we thought to be true has been borne out in research: successful collegiate football or basketball programs equate to higher numbers of applicants.

    Or, as someone has put it, "the athletic department is the front porch to the university".

    http://www.livescience.com/health/080324-march-madness.html
     
  2. mattbrent

    mattbrent Well-Known Member

    I believe it. When I watch the news, the only thing I hear about colleges and universities are the actions of their sports teams, not their research or academics. This sports coverage is like free advertising. If a sport is doing well, it will be constantly mentioned, and thus people will hear about it. I recall choosing a college back in high school, and all of the schools my friends and I applied to were well known schools with big sports teams. None of us applied to any small schools.

    Some of my colleagues and I have been curious to know how these school shootings have affected application numbers. Last year when following the massacre at Virginia Tech, many of the local news stations did surveys to see if the event changed a high school student's view of the university and their perspective on applying there. I don't recall the numbers, but I remember that most of the people said they would still apply there. I suppose I'm more pessimistic, however. Even though a person says he or she will still apply, I believe they might say that to look good on air, but in reality might consider something else. I'd be anxious to see the numbers from Tech to see if the applications did go down this year.

    -Matt
     
  3. Daniel Luechtefeld

    Daniel Luechtefeld New Member


    No publicity is bad publicity. If anything, I would expect VT's application numbers to go higher.
     
  4. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    Agreed; for example many people seem to forget the University of Miami is a damned good school, simply because the success of their athletic teams often overshadows their academics.
     

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