4TH DOWN AND GOLD TO GO - ASSESSING THE LINK BETWEEN ATHLETICS AND ALUMNI GIVING

Objective. Much research has been done on the potential impact of coll egiate sports success on alumni giving. This paper looks at the impact of successful football and men's basketball programs in the context o f a comprehensive model of alumni giving, considering not only sports success but other student and institutional characteristics that may a ffect giving totals. Methods. Data from a variety of sources are used to examine the factors that determine alumni giving levels at the inst itutional level from 1973 to 1990. Separate data sets are constructed for private universities, public universities, and liberal arts colleg es. Results. While winning records do not translate into higher gifts at the university level, bowl game appearances do result in significan tly higher gift totals. NCAA basketball tournament appearances result in higher gifts to public universities. Liberal arts colleges see a st atistically significant, bur very small, correlation between winning p ercentage and alumni giving. Conclusions. Alumni giving depends on man y variables, including significant success in intercollegiate athletic s. The uncertainty of postseason appearances, even for teams with winn ing records, makes investing in sports a risky approach toward increas ing alumni giving.