It’s normal for high school football players to observe a university’s athletic program’s success before they commit to a school, but non-athletes may also be influenced by a university’s football season record.
The Office of Undergraduate Admissions saw a continual increase in undergraduate applications throughout the fall and is still noticing a spike after LSU’s almost flawless season ended at the 2012 Allstate BCS National Championship Game in January.
Last year, Undergraduate Admissions received 14,818 applications for the fall 2011 semester. As of mid-April 2012, 15,928 applications had poured in for the fall 2012 semester. 
The jump represents an almost 7.5 percent increase and will continue to grow, according to David Kurpius, associate vice chancellor for enrollment management. Applications for the fall 2012 semester will be accepted until Aug. 17, the Friday before classes begin.
Kurpius said he is unable to attribute the increase entirely to LSU’s successful football season, but he acknowledged that it is a factor.
“I definitely think football has had an impact on our numbers,” Kurpius said.
Undergraduate Admissions has access to application data that can specify how many applications were submitted in a specific week or weekend.
“I knew we would see spikes in applications after weekend football wins, and we did,” Kurpius said. “We did not see a spike on weeks that the football team was off.” 
Kurpius said his office is trying to better utilize data so they know where they need to branch out and be seen.
For example, the recruiting branch within Undergraduate Admissions knew a large number of people would watch the No. 1 team play in a primetime football game, so they ran recruiting ads during those games.  
“We absolutely take advantage of the football team’s success to entice more students to apply to LSU,” Kurpius said. “It gives us national exposure.”
According to the Office of Budget and Planning, the increase in applications following a successful football season is not a new trend for LSU.
When LSU won the national championship in January 2004 after the 2003 season, the number of applications received for the fall 2004 semester increased more than 9 percent from the previous year.
Similarly, when LSU defeated Ohio State in the national championship in January 2008, the number of applications submitted for the fall 2008 semester increased by almost 32 percent.
But the jump in applications does not guarantee the same spike in admissions.
Kurpius said part of the problem is that some of these high school students are basing their college decisions solely on Tyrann Mathieu and the celebrity of the University’s football program.
“It is not a surprise that some of these non-athlete students do not meet the admission requirements,” Kurpius said. “Especially if they are from out of state and do not have the advantage of their school counselors knowing all of LSU’s admission standards.”
 
 
 
—- Contact Lea Ciskowski at [email protected].