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

Abstract

Athletics can impact the entire university, and there is evidence that administrators’ peer rankings are influenced by athletics as well. We analyze both the positive effect of winning championships and the negative effects of football bowl bans and vacated games. We find that championship effects are positive: increasing peer rankings, alumni giving, and student academic quality. Surprisingly, peer rankings increase the year of the football bowl ban but decrease the year after the ban. Additionally, there is evidence that bowl bans increase a school's acceptance rate and decrease academic quality at the sanctioned university, whereas vacated games lower alumni giving.