Tennessee had a huge spike in applications after the Alabama win, and the trend continues

In front of a national audience on Oct. 15, a sea of orange-clad fans pulled down the Neyland Stadium goal posts. At the same time, one important thing was going up: applications to the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

Fans celebrated the Volunteers‘ 52­-49 upset over No. 1 Alabama, and 1,578 potential new students in two days hit “submit” on their application to head to campus next fall, according to UT’s admissions office. The number of applications that came in after the win is nearly double the number received over the same time during last year’s cycle, UT spokesperson Kerry Gardner told Knox News.

Over the course of the season through the Vols' win against Kentucky last Saturday, first-year applications are up 47% compared to this time last year. As of Monday, more than 32,000 first-year applications have been submitted to UT.

"As Chancellor (Donde) Plowman has shared, we are a university on the rise. We have become a destination for students seeking the Volunteer Experience,"Gardner wrote.

With the team in the national championship and Heisman Trophy conversations ‒ and a shot at beating the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs this weekend ‒ another surge is likely coming.

The "Flutie Effect," named after 1984 Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie for his Hail Mary pass that secured a win against the University of Miami, happens when a college's athletic success bleeds into admissions.

But just as Flutie likely wasn't the only reason applications jumped up at Boston College, interest at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville has already been trending upward.

"While the success in athletics increases the visibility and reach of the university, we also rely on our strong partnership with alumni who share their unique Volunteer experiences and can speak to the way their time at UT helped prepare them for success," Gardner said.

The university now receives an average of about 200 applications a day, a 141.6% increase from the 2017 daily average.

Tennessee launched its first strategic enrollment plan in fall 2016 with a goal to grow undergraduate enrollment to more than 25,000 by 2022 to be able to support the state and university.

"When we set out on this plan, we really focused broadly," Kari Alldredge, the vice provost for enrollment management, said during an advisory meeting with Chancellor Plowman in September.

It worked. In fall 2021, UT had an undergraduate enrollment of 25,067.

UT received more than 36,200 first-year applications for fall 2022, up nearly 110% from 2016. Most of those came from out-of-state students as the university received nearly 25,000 out-of-state applications, up 244% from 2016.

"This really speaks I think to the popularity and the momentum that we have going both in Tennessee, but also nationally as it relates to just a demand and desire for students to be here and to be a Volunteer," Alldredge said.

As applications rise, so can enrollment.

Of those 36,200 applications, 6,846 enrolled, up 41% since 2016 and up 15% from just the previous year.

The Flutie effect

Several studies in the past four decades had tried to determine whether athletic success correlates with increased enrollment and for the most part it does, the studies have found.

A 20-year study of NCAA programs that was published in 2008 found that applications increased as much as 8% at schools that win the national football championship, and schools that finish in the top 20 have a 2.5% gain.

And it's not limited to football: Schools that make it to the Sweet 16 in the men’s basketball tournament see an average 3% boost in applications the following year, the study found. The champion is likely to see an increase of up to 8%, but just making the 65-team field will net schools an average 1% bump

A study published in 2021, using the results from 2000 through 2013, drew similar conclusions.

"These results show that winning an upset victory or a national championship in college football increases the amount of media attention a school receives, which then allows the university to be the beneficiary of an advertising effect," according to the study from Appalachian State University that was published in the International Journal of Sport Finance. "This additional advertising or “Flutie Effect” translates into measurable increases in applications and enrollment for the school, further strengthening the correlation between university athletics and the overall advancement of the institution."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tennessee sees spike in university applications after Alabama win