Abstract
Among large universities, success in high-profile intercollegiate athletics appears to be one factor among several in the college choice process for aspiring undergraduates. Winning a national championship in one of the two most visible college sports - football and men's basketball - is routinely accompanied by significant positive attention for an institution. That attention appears to translate into increases in applications received for undergraduate admission in subsequent admissions cycles. We compared year-to-year and multiyear changes in the number of applications submitted following winning a national championship with changes in parallel sets of data from peer institutions that did not experience a championship, thereby isolating athelitic success as a factor in the college choice process. We found that notable increases generally occured in admission applications received - both in absolute terms but more importantly relative to peer schools - in the years following the championship season.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 633-661 |
Number of pages | 29 |
Journal | Research in Higher Education |
Volume | 39 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Dec 1998 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Education