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

Abstract

In 1987, the Southern Methodist University (SMU) football program received the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA’s) harshest penalty, often referred to as the “death penalty.” SMU was caught committing two or more major violations of NCAA rules in [Formula: see text] years. Therefore, under the repeat offender clause, their football program was terminated for the 1987–1988 school year, and they chose to take the next season off as well. In the years following the death penalty, the team struggled to find success. Using the synthetic control method, this article measures the cost of the death penalty in terms of athletic performance and the university’s finances.

AACSB accreditation and student demand

“…It has been used to study college sport's effects. Johnson and McCannon (2021) considers the impact of the child sex abuse scandal at Penn State on applications and Lawson (2021) considers the death penalty applied on Southern Methodist University's football team. We use it for an important dimension to higher education administration-accreditation's impact.…”