Ohio Basketball Topic

Topic: In Defense Of College Athletics

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OUbobcat9092

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Posted: 4/5/2011 10:11 AM

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To borrow liberally from Kid Rock...

"All the crackheads, the critics, the CCAP cynics
An' all my heroes on the BobcatAttack Board"

Sally Jenkins, Washington Post, had a good article about the value of College Athletics and Athletic Scholarships this last Sunday:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/the_values_of_an_athletic_scholarship/2011/04/01/AFaTdjOC_story.html?nav=emailpage

A Couple excerpts:
"our universities are highly commercialized places, touched by many forms of corruption, and they are used as farm systems all the time, by all kinds of professions. Why are we blaming athletes unduly for this?"

"Scholarship Athletes get a four-year ride free of the mountainous student loans that burden so many of their peers — a collective $900 billion worth. Ask any parent who is paying tuition what a scholarship is worth. Pay players? Please. We’re already paying them as much as a half-million dollars apiece over four years, maybe more. And we’ve done a lousy job of explaining that to them."

OUbobcat9092

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Posted: 4/5/2011 10:15 AM

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To the critics that say that sports doesn't increase the number of applications, or their quality, here is an article in the Washington Post about the bump VCU has received from this year's tourney and the coming rise in applications they expect.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/virginia-commonwealth-university-school-spirit-at-an-all-time-high-even-after-final-four-loss-to-butler/2011/04/02/AFbw6DSC_story.html

Other universities have found that March Madness success quickly translates into admissions success, with more applications from a wider range of students. It will be months before VCU’s administrators will learn if the same is true for them, but the school’s admissions Web site has seen a spike in hits, said Pamela D. Lepley, VCU’s executive director of university relations.

“It certainly makes recruiting easier,” she said. “Now you don’t have to explain who VCU is.”

In the past two weeks, “VCU” has been a trending topic on Google, and the university’s main Web site has been getting millions of hits — including 11 million last Sunday when the Rams beat Kansas to make it into the Final Four

Last Edited: 4/5/2011 10:16:13 AM by OUbobcat9092

OUbobcat9092

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Posted: 4/5/2011 10:23 AM

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The case of George Mason's NCAA run and it's impact.
This data is from one year after their 2006 Final Four appearance.

GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY CONTINUES TO BENEFIT FROM FINAL FOUR RUN

http://eagle.gmu.edu/newsroom/591/

Merten notes, however, that there are key areas where the benefits have been documented. They include admissions, alumni relations, and development/fundraising. Following is a partial listing of specific benefits in these areas as a result of Mason’s Final Four appearance:

Admissions

Freshmen applications have increased by 20 percent.
The number and size of campus tours for prospective students and parents nearly tripled.

Alumni Relations

Mason alumni who registered with the online alumni directory have grown by more than 52 percent.
There is a 24 percent increase in alumni e-mail addresses now registered on record.
There is a 25 percent increase in active alumni.

Development/Fundraising

Mason received more than $23.2 million in new gifts and pledge payments compared to $19.6 million the previous year.
Donations to athletic programs increased by 25 percent.
General scholarship support nearly tripled.
Unrestricted gifts to the university increased by nearly 45 percent.

Mason officials look for these numbers to increase. “The response to our Final Four experience could not be more positive. The greater interest in our institution better enables us to strengthen our primary mission – to provide our students with the highest quality education we can,” says Merten.

OUbobcat9092

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Posted: 4/5/2011 10:31 AM

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Not every school receives the same impact from an NCAA tournament bump, but George Mason certainly did.

It can be argued that a surprise appearance by a Mid-Major in the higher echelons of the NCAA tournament has a greater impact for that school than for a larger school that already receives a good amount of national exposure on a regular basis.

College Admissions and March Madness
http://www.theivycoach.com/the-ivy-coach-blog/did-you-know/college-admissions-and-march-madness/

"Historically, universities that qualify for the Sweet 16 increase their applicant pool by an average of 3% the following year. A school that wins the tournament tends to increase next year’s applicant pool by an average of 7-8%, according to a Virginia Tech researcher. Do you happen to remember mid-major George Mason’s Cinderella run to the Final Four back in 2006 (that included upsets of powerhouses Michigan State, UNC, and UConn)? In the following admissions cycle, George Mason’s applicant pool increased by 20%."

OUbobcat9092

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Posted: 4/5/2011 10:34 AM

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The impact on the school can be felt in many different ways.

SCHOOL IMPACT

http://www.theivycoach.com/the-ivy-coach-blog/the-rankings/college-athletics/

The George Mason University bookstore typically has sales of $11,000 per week. During the ten day run to the Final Four, the bookstore took in $876,000 (a figure that exceeded the bookstore’s sales for the entire previous YEAR). They sold 36,000 t-shirts.

The team, which notably graduates 100% of its players, had an immediate, remarkable impact on the appeal of George Mason University to high school students as well as to the university’s selectivity. The school experienced a 350% increase in inquiries, and out-of-state applications went up by 54%. SAT scores and high school GPAs of admitted students went up exponentially.

Droves of alumni began donating money to the university. Hits on the school’s athletic site went up 503%, and there were 5 million Yahoo “Mason Final Four” searches. The George Mason basketball team put George Mason University on the map in more than just basketball. They were a colossal adrenaline boost to the university’s lure and academic rigor.

OUbobcat9092

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Posted: 4/5/2011 10:41 AM

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The case of Butler's NCAA Tournament success, and it's impact since last year's Final appearance.
Imagine what the benefit to Butler will be after two consecutive Finals appearances.

Butler Reaps Publicity Value From Final Four Run

http://www.butlersports.com/sports/m-baskbl/2010-11/releases/040111aab

"The lengthy study found that the Butler men’s basketball team generated $10,416,108.72 in print media publicity value and $72,991,373.09 in television publicity value, beyond the national championship game broadcast. In addition, Butler received $455,866.400.01 in on-line/internet publicity value. The total publicity included 68,192 hits and 24,374,672,262 impressions! The study did not examine the additional publicity value of radio broadcasts."

"The publicity value study quantified yet another impact of Butler’s 2010 Final Four appearance. The University also experienced significant increases in enrollment, ticket sales, merchandise sales, and charitable giving. Applications to Butler rose 41% and men’s basketball season ticket sales increased by 25%. Sales of Butler athletic merchandise and donations to the athletic department both reached all-time highs."

OUbobcat9092

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Posted: 4/5/2011 11:00 AM

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In Depth: The Flutie, Gonzaga Effects

Effects provide profound short and long term impact on athletic programs and universities
http://www.bisonillustrated.com/s.php?s=505

This article looks at the same effects from Football success for mid-majors in football (BSU, TCU) and in basketball (Gonzaga, George Mason) along with how a singular event can dramatically raise a university's profile (Boston College).

The Gonzaga Effect

Similarly tagged the “Gonzaga Effect” by school administrators, Gonzaga University has created a phenomenon of its own in Spokane, Wash. Playing as a mid-major team in the ranks of men’s basketball, Gonzaga was always the power conferences in the country receiving the attention and grabbing headlines when the national tournament would roll around every March. But winning did something special for fans of the Gonzaga Zags.

In 1999 the school reached the regional finals of the NCAA tournament and has reached the tournament every year since. Gonzaga has become a mainstay during “March Madness” and the nation has taken notice. Again filling the “little guy” persona, Gonzaga’s consistent success has opened revenue streams. A study showed that during the 1997-98 fiscal year, Gonzaga received $9.7 million in total gift commitments. By the year 2000 — just one year removed from its regional finals appearance — that number had increased all the way to $16.5 million. Similarly, athletic fund raising at the school went from between $200,000 and $300,000 in 1999 up to $444,000 in 2000 with an additional endowment of one million dollars. Gonzaga subsequently built a $25 million basketball arena in 2004. And it has mostly to do with the team’s success.

As mentioned, it’s difficult for mid-major teams to remain overly competitive at the national level, but Gonzaga has been able to do so consistently over the last decade and are reaping the benefits.

giacomo

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Posted: 4/5/2011 11:08 AM

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All of these stories are nice and the success in the tournament has made a big difference to these schools. The problem as I see it, is trying to emulate that success by throwing money at your program. After all, only 4 teams make it to the final four(my degree is in business). I'm certain that if you spent money on other forms of marketing, you could do as well.

GoCats105

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Posted: 4/5/2011 11:22 AM

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Love all these posts and would love to add my own:

Has anyone been to the Xavier campus in the past 5 years? It looks like a completely different university. You're gonna sit there and tell me the reason their freshmen enrollment has hit record highs every year for the past three years is because of their business program (which is solid BTW) or because their pre-med program is top notch? Please try to convince me that the basketball team hasn't attributed to that. I know a guy who came from New York and the only reason he knew about Xavier was because of the basketball team.

BattleCat

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Posted: 4/5/2011 11:36 AM

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But college enrollment is up nationwide, even at places who do not play sports, as well as sports at all levels. Could one not say that this is due to the economy and the type of jobs that are available in the 21st Century?

As an example, North Texas enrollment is up a record 5% and they are not very good at any sport.

http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/education/021511-college...

Last Edited: 4/5/2011 11:39:06 AM by BattleCat

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Posted: 4/5/2011 12:43 PM

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BattleCat wrote:expand_more

But the key in reading in depth the other stories is the amount they are up...Butler 41% for example. 5% is attributable maybe to the economy but these schools are up exponentially.

I agree giacomo about the limited number of folks who make the final four but I have had literally thousands of guys looking at my Ohio gear from coast to caost as recently as 2 days ago when I was down in Indy walking over to the Final Four girls practice all say the same thing.."arent you the guys who beat Georgetown last year?" final four or not the exposure is well worth the price and far superior in my friend who works in admissions at BSU to travelling to colllege fairs and putting up billboards as well as president Joann Gora's BSU ads that run state wide. She said Ball States Football season and beating Tennessee in the girls tourney created bigger blips onthe admissions radar than the TV ads, billboards and college fairs.

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Posted: 4/5/2011 5:24 PM

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I don't doubt that is makes a difference to those that have made it happen. Not every school can make it happen, no matter how much they spend. Som will try and emulate the big spenders and not have much to show for it.