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The Impact of Winning an NCAA Men's Basketball or Football Championship on Academic Quality

Author

Listed:
  • Austin F. Eggers

    (Appalachian State University)

  • Peter A. Groothuis

    (Appalachian State University)

Abstract

Collegiate sports programs are often characterized as the front porch of a university, serving to publicize the institution and draw students to the door. We analyze how winning either a national championship in men's NCAA Division One basketball or football influences the academic quality of students attending the university. Our findings suggest that winning a national championship in men's basketball slightly increases the quality of students at a university, while winning a football championship slightly lowers the quality of students who enroll at a school as measured by academic test scores and high school rank. Our results demonstrate that winning a national championship may serve as signal to prospective students of the amenity mix available at a university, thereby influencing student enrollment decisions.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:ebl:ecbull:eb-20-00876
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Higher Education; Academic Ranking; NCAA men's basketball and football;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor

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