Does becoming a Member of the Football Bowl Subdivision Increase Institutional Attractiveness to Potential Students

In recent years, a number of colleges and universities have made the decision to pursue membership in the NCAA’s Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) with the idea that participating in higher profile intercollegiate football can help attract students to their institution. This belief, however, has not been empirically examined. Using difference-in-differences estimation, this study examined freshmen application trends at three colleges and universities (Florida Atlantic University, Florida International University, and Western Kentucky University) which moved from the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) to the FBS in the mid-2000s relative to similar FCS institutions which did not move to the FBS. Findings showed that moving to the FBS had a positive, statistically significant correlation with freshmen applications at the two institutions located in Florida but not at Western Kentucky University.