The impact of NCAA men’s basketball probations on the quantity and quality of student applications and enrollment

Abstract

Collegiate sports programs have been characterized as the front porch of a university, serving to publicize the institution and draw students to the door. Previous research in this area has indicated a positive correlation between athletic success and the quantity and quality of students attending the university. Conversely, we seek to analyze if athletic malfeasance, as measured by NCAA probations of men's basketball programs, negatively affects either the quantity or quality of students at a university. Our findings suggest that while basketball probations do not change the overall quantity of applications nor enrollment at a university, there is a significant adverse impact on the quality of freshman enrolling at the university as measured by Scholastic Aptitude Test scores. Our finding suggest that athletics do indeed serve as a front porch to a university and that athletic sanctions in men's basketball have a detrimental effect on the average quality of students attending a university. . RUNNING TITLE: The Impact of NCAA Basketball Probations on Student Enrollment JEL CODES: I23, Z20, J24

Universities Behaving Badly: The Impact of Athletic Malfeasance on Student Quality and Enrollment

“…Our research differs from both Groothuis et al (2019) and Smith (2015) by focusing solely on basketball postseason tournament bans, one of the harshest penalties imposed by the NCAA. Studying only postseason tournament bans, we then analyze the impact of this significant penalty on student applications, student admissions, student enrollment, and student quality.…”

“…Studying only postseason tournament bans, we then analyze the impact of this significant penalty on student applications, student admissions, student enrollment, and student quality. Additionally, instead of including all potential categories of NCAA sanctions as in Smith's (2015) study, where including major and minor sanctions together might have led to insignificant results or focusing solely on minor probations as in Groothuis et al (2019), our research addresses only men's basketball postseason tournament bans and attempts to isolate the influence of this harsh penalty on both the quantity and academic quality of incoming students. Further, all but one of the postseason tournament bans identified in this study was self-imposed by the infracting university, while all the minor sanctions were mandated by the NCAA.…”

The Flutie and Anti-Flutie Effect: The Impact of Football Championships and Athletic Malfeasance on the University

“…The Penn State Scandal was analyzed by Johnson and McCannon (2022) finding that post-scandal the school recruited students with lower GPAs and SAT Math scores. Groothuis et al (2019) also found that mean test scores fall when a university's basketball program is placed on probation by the NCAA. Conversely, Smith (2015) observed that sanctions such as the loss of scholarships imposed on either a basketball or football program had no impact on the institution in terms of applications.…”

The Lasting Impact of NCAA Sanctions: SMU and the Death Penalty

“…Sanctions can affect the competitive balance in sports (Depkin & Wilson, 2006) and employment and promotion decisions about coaches (Soebbing et al, 2015). Eggers et al (2020) and Groothuis et al (2019) find that postseason bans on collegiate level basketball teams negatively affect the quality and quantity of applications to the college or university, and these results persist for years after the ban is lifted. Johnson and McCannon (2019) also look at the quality of the incoming freshman classes at Penn State University after the football scandal in 2011.…”

“…Misconduct, athletic or otherwise, can hurt a school financially or in academic performance. Eggers et al (2020) and Groothuis et al (2019) show that sanctions on NCAA basketball programs have adverse effects on academic outcomes, such as the number of applications and the quality of those applicants. Rooney and Smith (2019) find that high-profile instances of misconduct, not just athletic ones, at universities negatively affect the number of applicants in the following year.…”