CHE: Will Basketball Pay Off Big for a Small College?

[Wahoo Redux]

This just struck me as interesting in the context of the many discussions about athletic spending in college, here and elsewhere.

The article:

How a small little known college is seizing its moment of fame

Amid the excitement, Saint Peter's leaders are grappling with how to leverage the attention in a way that'll benefit the university for years to come. While the short-term buzz is captivating, enrollment experts said, sustaining that momentum is easier said than done.

Shelves in the campus store have been all but picked clean. The university's top Amazon vendor sold $40,000 in merchandise last week. Online orders have come from 45 different states.

While the university hasn't always been as supportive of its sports programs as it is now, Cornacchia said athletics could enhance students' experiences and bolster academics by driving dollars to the institution.

Cornacchia said the "big payoff" from all the hoopla would be an influx of money that the institution could use to improve affordability and access. More than half of its students are the first in their families to go to college, and the vast majority receive financial aid.

[dismalist]

Overheard in Silicon Valley: "The modern university is a political madrassa married to a trade school married to a hedge fund married to a sports team married to an adult day care center married to a visa law firm." :-)

[Hibush]

My place was an unexpected participant in March Madness a while back. The result was that the coach was hire away immediately after the tournament and the talented players graduated. We were left with a new inexperieced coach and some modestly talented freshmen, who lost a lot of games the following year. The brief prominence caused recruiting for the team to collapse rather than strengthen. It had no effect on recruiting in general, but sports fame is not a driver anyway.

I suppose the bookstore sold more logowear, but that is about it for impact.

[Mobius]

Plus it could lead to a short-term enrollment bump and more money:

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1527002520944437?icid=int.sj-full-text.similar-articles.2

[dismalist]

Plus it could lead to a short-term enrollment bump and more money:

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1527002520944437?icid=int.sj-full-text.similar-articles.2

... a surprise ("Cinderella") run in the men's NCAA...

All we need is good surprises, aka luck.