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Institutional Effects of Adding Football: A Difference-in-Difference Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Welch Suggs

    (University of Georgia
    Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication)

  • Alex B. Monday

    (Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education, University of Georgia)

  • Jennifer May-Trifiletti

    (Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education, University of Georgia)

  • James C. Hearn

    (Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education, University of Georgia)

Abstract

Football teams draw the largest crowds of any American collegiate sport, and with them, both positive and negative attention for colleges and universities. Nearly 50 colleges have added the sport recently, but little research has examined the institutional effects of adding a team. Some of these institutions are regional research universities adding the sport as part of broad plans to transform campus identities, while at smaller public and private institutions, adding a football team (with approximately 100 members) appears to be an attempt to boost racial diversity and the number of male students. This study uses difference-in-difference models to find that adding a football team appears to have a significant, but short-term, effect on enrollment and tuition revenue. The long-term effects of adding the sport do not appear to be statistically significant. This raises questions about the costs and benefits of adding football at a time when higher education faces significant challenges attracting students.

Suggested Citation

  • Welch Suggs & Alex B. Monday & Jennifer May-Trifiletti & James C. Hearn, 2024. "Institutional Effects of Adding Football: A Difference-in-Difference Analysis," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 65(6), pages 1243-1268, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:reihed:v:65:y:2024:i:6:d:10.1007_s11162-024-09786-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s11162-024-09786-7
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