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The Effects of Marijuana Legalization on NCAA Men's Basketball Recruiting

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Listed:
  • Brent A. Evans
  • Christopher Clark
  • Joshua D. Pitts

Abstract

Over the past two decades, attitudes toward marijuana usage have softened. This shift in sentiment coincided with reduced punishments, decriminalization, and in some states, legalization. We find evidence of unexpected consequences of marijuana legalization. Using difference-in-difference estimation, we show that legalization correlates with recruiting outcomes in NCAA D1 sports. Specifically, legalization appears to improve basketball recruiting outcomes for in-state colleges but hurts recruiting outcomes for football programs. Since collegiate athletics are directly correlated with revenues and may affect the number of general applications that a university receives, our results reveal a channel through which marijuana laws could impact post-secondary education.

Suggested Citation

  • Brent A. Evans & Christopher Clark & Joshua D. Pitts, 2024. "The Effects of Marijuana Legalization on NCAA Men's Basketball Recruiting," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 25(2), pages 200-216, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:jospec:v:25:y:2024:i:2:p:200-216
    DOI: 10.1177/15270025231217975
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. 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.
    2. Brent A. Evans & Joshua D. Pitts, 2018. "Cross-Sport Recruiting Effects in NCAA D1 Football and Basketball," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 19(6), pages 820-842, August.
    3. McDonald Paul Mirabile & Mark David Witte, 2017. "A Discrete-Choice Model of a College Football Recruit’s Program Selection Decision," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 18(3), pages 211-238, April.
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    6. 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.
    7. Richard Borghesi, 2018. "The Financial and Competitive Value of NCAA Basketball Recruits," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 19(1), pages 31-49, January.
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    9. J. D. Pitts & B. Evans, 2016. "The role of conference externalities and other factors in determining the annual recruiting rankings of football bowl subdivision (FBS) teams," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(33), pages 3164-3174, July.
    10. Peter A. Groothuis & Austin F. Eggers & Parker T. Redding, 2019. "The impact of NCAA men’s basketball probations on the quantity and quality of student applications and enrollment," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(8), pages 657-660, May.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Marijuana; college basketball; college football; NCAA; recruiting; sports economics;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • J20 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - General
    • Z20 - Other Special Topics - - Sports Economics - - - General
    • Z21 - Other Special Topics - - Sports Economics - - - Industry Studies

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