Universities near Premier League clubs attract more university students, study finds | Universities

There are many things to consider when choosing a university: where is the best course offered? What is the campus like? Who are the professors? And also, how did the local football team do last season?

According to research, students may be influenced in their choice of university in England by the performance of Premier League Football clubs linked to the city where the university is located.

A study led by the University of Stirling suggests that universities with successful local football teams may be more attractive to prospective students, but universities whose local teams struggle may see their application numbers fall.

In the middle of the The financial crisis facing universities is deepening – with warnings that tuition fees in England They need to get to £12,500 a year to break even; vice-chancellors should perhaps consider donning their local team's scarf and hoping to avoid the drop.

The study found that over the past 20 years, universities linked to relegated Premier League football clubs saw a 4% to 8% drop in undergraduate admissions compared with those whose clubs survived.

In cases where the team returned to the Premier League after a season, the drop in admissions was around 4%, but that figure extended to 8% if they did not immediately regain their place in the top flight.

“We found that having a football team that performs well can be beneficial for admissions if you are a university chancellor,” said Dr Carl Singleton, senior lecturer in economics at the University of Stirling.

Researchers believe the increased brand awareness that comes with being in the top flight of English football helps attract students to partner universities. “Sport is an international language and the reach of football is incredible,” Singleton said. “Name recognition associated with a place really matters.”

Although it is believed to be the first study of its kind in England, the results did not come as a surprise to people working in university admissions, Singleton said, adding that admissions staff had contacted him to say they were already aware of the study's findings. “Universities should probably already know, but our paper is the first of its kind with scientific evidence to back up the theory,” he said.

Universities already make efforts to capitalise on a partnership with a well-known local football club. For example, Bournemouth University, whose local team finished 12th in the Premier League last season, has referenced the club in its marketing materialswhile staff from the University of Manchester have accompanied Manchester United on their pre-season tours of South East Asia. “With the current climate for higher education in the UK, it would not be surprising to see more clubs looking to establish marketing links with their local football teams,” Singleton said.

The research, carried out in collaboration with Birmingham Business School and the University of Reading, excludes small universities with fewer than 7,000 admissions a year and universities that might be associated with multiple teams, such as Manchester, Sheffield and London. It used data on annual admissions to UK universities from the Higher Education Statistics Authority and English Premier League season data from worldfootball.net.