<p>"to my point, while the study does seem to confirm a small, positive (but, as the study notes, temporary) impact of athletic success on student quality, the impact is often overstated when data such as 'prospective student contacts' and even applications are used as evidence. further, this seems to be more true the more selective the school."</p>
<p>1)UF is one of the most selective schools in the nation</p>
<p>2) The "Fltie Effect" should be amplified at UF due to the following recent history of UF in conSECutive semesters:</p>
<p>Basketball championship #1
Football championship #1
Basketball championship #2
Heisman Trophy winner #1
Several UF Athletes representing the USA in the Olympics
Football championship #2 (Tebow receives most # 1 votes for the Heisman)
Tebow announces a return for his senior year.</p>
<p>Given all of this, I'm still surprised that there is a crowd out there that believes that big-time sports programs actually detract from a school's overall environment.</p>
<p>We moved to Gainesville in 2001 and I was disgusted by the obsession with Gator sports, especially football, and the idolatry of these young athletes who were supposed to be students. But lo and behold I covered my car with Gator slogans last week and have been a convert (thanks to my 12 year old son). I think that the coaches see their players as developing people and not just athletes, and many of the athletes have been successful both on the field and in the classroom. (Not to mention Tebow and his mission work; I am an agnostic but he is an amazing person). And it really does make it a fun place to be.</p>
<p>There is a program in Florida which was designed to keep bright students in state and boy has it succeeded. Any student with GPA and SAT above a certain set cutoff gets a free education. Therefore many many many kids who could probably afford to go elsewhere stay at UF (or other in state schools). Even in Gainesville where there were many kids of university professors, physicians etc, the vast majority of kids went to UF if they could get in. Their average GPA and SAT are very high (GPA above 4.0 and SAT I think 1340 or something in that range).</p>
<p>
[quote]
2) The "Fltie Effect" should be amplified at UF due to the following recent history of UF in conSECutive semesters:
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Except that Flutie took a regional private school and put it on the map, where previously 80% of the student body was from MA, RI, CT.</p>
<p>Florida was already a national power for years before Tebow having also won the 1996 football championship and has appeared in a Bowl game for each of the last 18 years.</p>
<p>^ National Power on the football field in the 90's I will give you that. But here is the thing: the state of Florida has 18 million residents. Now more than ever students from all over the state are starting to realize the implications of going to UF. Already had about 28,000 applications to cherry-pick from for the last incoming class, and a yield rate of 57%. Who knows what the future holds, but perhaps they will start getting the number that UCLA has. They got over 50,000 applications last year alone.</p>