What to Know
- In the first two rounds of March Madness, we’ve seen multiple New Jersey schools earn some unexpected wins over top-ranked teams in the bracket, and these successes might have some impact outside the basketball court as well
- It's called “The Flutie Effect'," a phenomenon where application submissions can be attributed to athletic success. The name references how Doug Flutie, a former quarterback for Boston College, may have drawn in students to his institution based on his performance on the field.
- A Forbes article analyzes a study that correlates Cinderella tournament runs with economic benefit for institutions during the critical spring admissions season.
In the first two rounds of March Madness, we’ve seen a few New Jersey universities get unexpected wins over top-ranked teams in the bracket. Those successes might have some impact outside the basketball court as well.
No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson, hailing from Teaneck, advanced in the tournament after beating top-seeded Purdue, a team many considered favorites to win the NCAA Tournament. And while they fell in the Round of 32 to No. 9 Florida Atlantic University, it marked just the second time in history that a 16 seed moved on to the second round.
FDU also scored a spot in the bracket in 2019 by winning their play-in match in the First Four.
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Meanwhile, the No. 15 seed Princeton is still dancing in the tournament. They're competing in the Sweet 16 after moving past both No. 2 Arizona and No. 7 Missouri.
Just last year, the Jersey City-based Saint Peter’s University went on one of the most memorable and improbable tournament runs in history, making it all the way to the Elite Eight after upsetting three higher-ranked teams.
News
NBCLX’s Noah Pransky dove into how the upsets have impacted the NJ schools, especially when it comes to application rates and Google searches.
He writes that “The Flutie Effect'' is a phenomenon where application submissions can be attributed to athletic success. The name references how Doug Flutie, a former quarterback for Boston College, may have drawn in students to his institution based on his performance on the field, particularly his famous game-winning Hail Mary throw to beat football powerhouse Miami in 1984.
Pransky detailed how both the 2019 and 2023 runs in the Big Dance sparked Google traffic for FDU, although Princeton did not draw as much traffic in comparison. It's possible that the highly regarded Ivy League institution wouldn't benefit from the same kind of awareness bump because it's already very well known throughout the country.
St. Peter’s, with an enrollment of around 2,000 undergraduate students, saw an increase in applications that seemed to directly correlate with their run in the tournament.
In fact, a Forbes article analyzes a study that correlates Cinderella tournament runs with economic benefit for institutions during the critical spring admissions season.
While Princeton hasn't seen the same bump in awareness yet, it's possible it could happen if they continue to advance. The Tigers will take on No. 6 seed Creighton on Friday, with a chance to move on to the Elite Eight.
