The Lasting Impact
After their 2006 Final Four run, GMU went from a "small commuter school" to a nationally recognized underdog. With national newspapers running front-page coverage, and people around the country recognizing Mason branding, the immediate explosion of Mason into the national spotlight was obvious. However, this remarkable event begs the question: Did Mason's 2006 Final Four run have a lasting impact on Mason as a school? Did it attract more students, and did the university actually grow as a result of its athletic success?
We answer these questions by looking at official data, sourced from the university factbooks, to tell us whether there was a rise in enrollment from students across the nation, and whether more students decided to live on campus as a result of the achievement.
Was there a rise in in-state and/or out-of-state enrollment?
First, looking at the admissions data from 2004 to 2007, we see that the number of total applications to Mason was 26,900 in the school year 2004-05. In 2005-06 (the year of the Final Four run) it was 28,432. In 2006-07, it was 29,519, and in 2007-08, it was 31,855.
There is no noticeable spike in the number of applications to Mason in the years following the 2006 basketball run, and therefore, Mason's Final Four achievement did not meaningfully increase the number of students who applied to the school.
Looking at the full-time enrollment data at Mason from 2003 to 2007. Combining the numbers for Virginia and out-of-state enrollment, we find that the full-time enrollment at Mason was 28,874 in 2004-05, 29,728 in 2005-06, 29,889 in 2006-07, and 30,332 in 2007-08.
15.3% of the enrollment in 2004-05 was out of state, 17% in 2005-06, 16.6% in 2006-07, and 17.4% in 2007-08.
The enrollment numbers at Mason did not have a major spike resulting from the 2006 Final Four run. While they did gradually increase, this is most likely attributed to the standard yearly growth of the university, as the numbers were steadily growing even before the 2006 Final Four run. For example, enrollment went from ~29k to ~30k between Fall 2004 and Fall 2005.
The out-of-state enrollment data confirms this, as there was no spike in the number of students coming to Mason from other states as a result of its Final Four performance. The out-of-state enrollment percentage actually dropped by 0.4% in the year directly after the achievement.
In conclusion, we find that there was no rise in in-state and out-of-state enrollment as a result of Mason's Final Four run, so the athletic achievement did not have a lasting impact on Mason's growth in enrollment.
Are there any noticeable trends in commuting vs. living on campus?
The multiple excerpts from the GMU factbooks show the official on-campus housing data from 2004 to 2008. The number of students living on campus in the school year 2004-05 was 3,840. In 2005-06, it was 3,995. In 2006-07, it was 4,133. Finally, in 2007-08, it was 4,219.
The number of on-campus residents only increased gradually, and did not have a major spike in 2006-07 or 2007-08, the school years right after the 2006 run. The number of on-campus students remained proportional to the total number of students, which grew slowly due to the standard yearly growth of the university, and there is no evidence to show that Mason's basketball success helped attract more students to live on campus.
Therefore, Mason's 2006 Final Four run did not increase the number of students choosing to live on campus.