Marijuana legalization “appears to improve basketball recruiting outcomes for in-state colleges”, according to a new study.
(Photo credit: Jack Dempsey/NCAA Photos via Getty Images).
Titled The Effects of Marijuana Legalization on NCAA Men’s Basketball Recruiting, the study was published in the recent issue of the Journal of Sports Economics and conducted by researchers at Georgia College & State University and Kennesaw State University.
“Over the past two decades, attitudes toward marijuana usage have softened”, states the study. “This shift in sentiment coincided with reduced punishments, decriminalization, and in some states, legalization. We find evidence of unexpected consequences of marijuana legalization.”
Using “difference-in-difference estimation”, researchers “show that legalization correlates with recruiting outcomes in NCAA D1 sports. Specifically, legalization appears to improve basketball recruiting outcomes for in-state colleges”.
The study states that “In absolute terms, being located in a state with legal marijuana exerts an effect on recruiting that is 50% as strong as having a new coach”.
The effects “are large”, says researchers, “suggesting that interested parties (e.g., coaches, administrators, and fans) of other NCAA sports should consider marijuana laws a potential driver of recruiting effects.”
Interestingly, researchers found that to the contrary marijuana legalization “hurts recruiting outcomes for football programs.”
Researchers conclude by stating that “Residing in a state with legal recreational marijuana use is found to improve a college basketball program’s recruiting ranking. Since collegiate athletics are directly correlated with revenues and may affect the number of general applications that a university receives, our results reveal a channel through which marijuana laws could impact post-secondary education.”
You can find more information on this study by clicking here.
