Going deep.

• Author: Schley, Stewart
• Position: SPORTS biz

THE MOST FAMOUS TOUCHDOWN PASS IN college football history arced over Miami's Orange Bowl field for seconds before settling into the arms of the Boston College wide receiver Gerard Phelan in a breathtaking last-second finale. But the echo from Doug Flutie's impossibly magnificent, 48-yard heave continues to resonate, and right now, is especially loud in Colorado.

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"The Flutie Effect" is the nickname college athletics leaders use to describe the off-the-field impact of one of the greatest plays ever. Admission applications to Boston College soared by 30 percent in the two academic recruiting seasons following the 1984 game, suggesting there is no marketing scheme more effective than a heroic moment in football. Similar upswings have occurred elsewhere after college teams produced instances of on-field glory piped by ESPN and FOX into America's living rooms. Boise State's wild comeback victory over Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl propelled the Idaho college into national prominence and led to a spurt of out-of-state student applications. The list goes on, so much so that "The Flutie Effect" is considered to be all but scientifically affirmed. Succeed on the football field, ideally in dramatic fashion, and the freshmen will come a' flocking.

The theory received a credibility boost this summer when Harvard Business School's Doug Chung published a research paper titled "The Dynamic Advertising Effect of Collegiate Athletics." After studying relationships between on-the-field athletic records and student recruitment patterns, Chung concluded there is a legitimate and positive link. Among his findings: Schools that go from mediocre to great on the football field enjoy a nearly 18 percent increase in applications.

To boosters, these statistics justify big financial investments in football programs. Along with other benevolent spillover impacts, like alumni goodwill and the donations it encourages, a gridiron-inspired applications surge is seen as a valid reason for supporting men's football.

In Colorado, the "Flutie Effect" is in full roar. Its influence lorded over a recent Denver Post article that chronicled efforts by the University of Colorado and Colorado State University to secure millions of dollars for new fool ball facilities. Behind the efforts is faith that these investments will help lure out-of-state students who pay lofty tuition fees.

The bid to restore national prominence to the...