Why do Ivy League colleges put a big thumb on the scale in admissions in favor of promising athletes, both in money (e.g., football) and non-money sports (e.g., squash)?

From the National Bureau of Economic Research:

No Revenge for Nerds? Evaluating the Careers of Ivy League Athletes

Natee Amornsiripanitch, Paul Gompers, George Hu, Will Levinson & Vladimir Mukharlyamov

WORKING PAPER 31753
DOI 10.3386/w31753
ISSUE DATE October 2023

This paper compares the careers of Ivy League athletes to those of their non-athlete classmates. Combining team-level information on all Ivy League athletes from 1970 to 2021 with resume data for all Ivy League graduates, we examine both post-graduate education and career choices as well as career outcomes. In terms of industry choice, athletes are far more likely to go into business and Finance related jobs than their non-athlete classmates. In terms of advanced degrees, Ivy League athletes are more likely to get an MBA and to receive it from an elite program, although they are less likely to pursue an M.D., a Ph.D., or an advanced STEM degree. In terms of career outcomes, we find that Ivy League athletes outperform their non-athlete counterparts in the labor market. Athletes attain higher terminal wages and earn cumulatively more than non-athletes over the course of their careers controlling for school, graduation year, major, and first job. In addition, they attain more senior positions in the organizations they join. We also find that athletes from more socioeconomically diverse sports teams and from teams that have lower academic admissions thresholds have higher career outcomes than non-athletes. Collectively, our results suggest that non-academic human capital developed through athletic participation is valued in the labor market and may support the role that prior athletic achievement plays in admissions at elite colleges.

I’d bet these ex-jocks not only make more money, but donate a higher percentage of their earnings to their alma maters than do non-jocks.

Many people assume that Ivy League colleges must be stupid about their college admissions policies, but most of the evidence I’ve seen over the last half century (which, by the way, has been a very nice 50 years for Ivy League colleges) is that they make intelligent, data-driven decisions in their own self-interest.

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