Sep 30, 2026 · 9 min
College sports can boost applications—but not always value
Is investing in sports worth it for universities?
As colleges compete for fewer prospective students, athletic success may attract attention without delivering a reliable return on expensive sports investments.
- 1Winning can increase applications, especially among students with lower-than-average SAT scores, but the effect is difficult to isolate.
- 2Indiana’s championship shows how athletics can amplify a university’s visibility when paired with academic messaging and outreach.
- 3Education quality, affordability, financial aid, and career outcomes remain more durable enrollment drivers than sports success alone.
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Doug Flutie’s 1984 Hail Mary for Boston College becomes the vivid origin point for the claim that athletic success can advertise a university.
The brief
Doug Flutie’s 1984 Hail Mary for Boston College helped inspire the idea that a spectacular athletic moment can work like a university advertisement.
Researcher Doug Chung finds that major football success can lift applications, particularly among students with lower SAT scores, though the evidence is hard to separate from other forces.
Indiana University shows the upside: an unexpected championship amplified attention, while the school connected that visibility to academic programs and saw applications and social engagement grow.
The stakes rise as the college-age population shrinks and international enrollment falls, pushing schools to compete harder for a smaller pool of prospective students.
Rutgers illustrates the risk of treating athletics as an enrollment strategy: large losses and limited competitive success make sports a costly substitute for education quality, aid, and career services.
Featuring
Doug Flutie
Boston College
Indiana UniversityListen to the full episode and explore every guest, topic, and moment on PodLume.