Want to Know Why Successful College Sports is Good For Louisiana

This shows a clue
Trophy Schools

Study shows that the "Flutie Effect" may have some meritBy Dena PotterAssociated Press
Turns out there's some basis for the long-held belief among college admissions officials that the better their schools' teams do in high-profile sporting events, the more applications they'll see.Until recently, evidence about the ''Flutie Effect'' -- coined when applications to Boston College jumped about 30 percent in the two years after quarterback Doug Flutie's Hail Mary pass beat Miami in 1984 -- had been mostly anecdotal.S

o two researchers set out to quantify it, concluding after a broad study that winning the NCAA football or men's basketball title means a bump of about 8 percent, with smaller increases the reward for more modest success.''Certainly college administrators have known about this for a while, but I think this study helps to pin down what the average effects are,'' said Jaren Pope, an assistant professor in applied economics at Virginia Tech who conducted the study with his brother Devin, an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.
The brothers compared information on freshman classes at 330 NCAA Division I schools with how the schools' teams fared from 1983 through 2002.

Among their conclusions in a paper that is to be published this year in Southern Economic Journal:• Schools that make it to the Sweet 16 in the men's basketball tournament see an average 3 percent boost in applications the following year. The champion is likely to see a 7 to 8 percent increase, but just making the 65-team field will net schools an average 1 percent bump.• Similarly, applications go up 7 to 8 percent at schools that win the national football championship, and schools that finish in the top 20 have a 2.5 percent gain.

More money for sports?
There has been wide debate over the legitimacy of the Flutie Effect, especially when it comes to whether schools should pour money into athletics programs with the hope of reaping the benefits of a winning team.Pope said that's certainly not what he is suggesting.

For George Mason University, just outside Washington, the positive effects of its unlikely Final Four appearance two years ago were wide-reaching.In addition to increases in fundraising, attendance at games and other benefits, freshman applications increased 22 percent the year after the team made its magical run. The percentage of out-of-state freshmen jumped from 17 percent to 25 percent, and admissions inquiries rose 350 percent, said Robert Baker, director of George Mason's Center for Sport Management who conducted a study called ''The Business of Being Cinderella.''

The key is of course to make sure we keep improving the Academic side. Of course it will be nice if Jindal can create an environment to keep people here. As I have said for now a decade the two schools I attended that being Louisiana Tech and LSU , like most others in Louisiana, has done a great job educating great minds for Texas , North Carolina, and California.

This is one reason why I am involved with Sports and promoting it both as to LSU and Louisiana Tech(expect a flurry of posts to start on them tonight).

You cannot buy this kind of publicity. Louisiana Tech for years benefited greatly from the Lady Techsters. It is one reason why many of us are investing some money in what Coach and now AD Dooley envisions at Louisiana Tech.

It also does a lot to retain Alumni ID and funding!!! It is not only football. The LSU track and Field team give LSU huge world wide coverage. Thus the importance of investing wisely.

I have been pleased that people in AD departments across the state have worked together. Case in point was LSU signing a 10 year deal with Tulane. This helping their budget out. Many LSU fans hit the roof. Why I don't know. A healthy Football program at Tulane is good for Tulane , good for New Orelans , and thus good for Louisiana.

Now if we can just get these people to stay in Louisiana after they completed their degrees we will be in high cotton.