Basketball and Application Numbers

The further Duke advances in March Madness, the more applications the university is likely to receive the subsequent admissions cycle.

We came across a piece up on “Sports Illustrated” about the alma mater of one of our favorite former NBA stars, John Stockton, that touched on college admissions. And so we just had to share it with our readers. John Stockton, the NBA’s all-time leader in both assists and steals, graduated from Gonzaga University years before Gonzaga, a team that advanced to this year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship Final, would become a basketball powerhouse. And so what does the notoriously tightlipped Stockton have to say about how the basketball team’s rise under Coach Mark Few has impacted the greater university?

States Stockton in the “Sports Illustrated” piece, “I can’t give you exact statistics, but when the Zags do well, it always seems that enrollment goes up the next year. There’s a pretty direct correlation that everybody can see.” John Stockton, a man who knows what it’s like to lose in the finals (twice!), speaks the truth. Overwhelmingly, the data — irrespective of the specific school — paints the same picture. The further a men’s basketball team advances in March Madness, the more applications they have the next year. For more thorough coverage of this phenomenon, read what we wrote a few years back about George Mason University after their most unexpected run to the Final Four.

We’re pleased to quote John Stockton — that’s right, John Stockton — on college admissions.

If you’re a student who intends to apply to Duke next year, be happy the Blue Devils exited early from March Madness. Duke’s application numbers are so often strongest after seasons in which Coach K’s team makes deep March Madness runs.