Which Schools Benefited Most From Their March Madness Cinderella Runs?
The allure of March Madness is easy to understand.
Between the ecstasy and heartbreak of buzzer beaters, the thrill of seeing two powerhouse programs face off against one another, and the endorphin rush we get from watching low seeds pull off shocking upsets, there might not be another sporting event that captures the attention of even the most casual sports fans like the men's and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.
But what doesn't make major headlines in the aftermath of March Madness: how does a team's performance impact how the school is viewed in future years? This is particularly a interesting question when it comes to the true Cinderella teams â those low-seeded tournament darlings that exceed everyone's expectations (even their own).
We looked at 31 programs classified as "Cinderella teams" from the past 25 years to see how their incredible March Madness runs impacted application growth, donations and recruitment in subsequent years. And while most of these teams saw at least a modest boost thanks to their Cinderella run, a handful of programs saw their stature improve dramatically.
Here's a look at how those 31 schools rank based on the fallout of their unexpected NCAA tournament runs (categories scored out of 10, to a maximum possible score of 30):
High Impact
| Team | Application Growth | Donations | Recruiting Rank Change | Total Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VCU (2011) | 1.8 | 10.0 | 8.1 | 19.9 |
| Oral Roberts (2021) | 8.8 | 4.5 | 5.2 | 18.5 |
| Butler (2011) | 0.9 | 7.5 | 10.0 | 18.4 |
| Nevada (2004) | 4.2 | 10.0 | 3.0 | 17.2 |
| Florida Atlantic (2023) | 8.4 | 3.4 | 4.3 | 16.1 |
| Gonzaga (2000) | 10.0 | 1.3 | 4.4 | 15.7 |
| UW-Milwaukee (2005) | 6.0 | 5.2 | 3.5 | 14.6 |
| Richmond (2011) | 1.2 | 5.6 | 7.8 | 14.6 |
| UAB (2004) | 2.1 | 7.6 | 3.3 | 13.0 |
| Oregon State (2021) | 7.0 | 1.4 | 4.2 | 12.6 |
| Southern Illinois (2002) | 6.6 | 1.3 | 4.4 | 12.3 |
Medium Impact
| Team | Application Growth | Donations | Recruiting Rank Change | Total Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Peter's (2002) | 3.1 | 3.1 | 5.1 | 11.3 |
| Cornell (2010) | 1.7 | 2.7 | 6.5 | 10.9 |
| Temple (2001) | 4.9 | 1.3 | 4.4 | 10.6 |
| Butler (2003) | 2.0 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 10.6 |
| Saint Mary's (2010) | 4.9 | 5.3 | 0.0 | 10.2 |
| Dayton (2014) | 3.7 | 1.8 | 4.4 | 9.9 |
| La Salle (2013) | 0.9 | 2.5 | 6.3 | 9.7 |
| Wichita State (2013) | 2.2 | 1.6 | 5.6 | 9.4 |
| Princeton (2023) | 1.6 | 0.4 | 7.4 | 9.4 |
Low Impact
| Team | Application Growth | Donations | Recruiting Rank Change | Total Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawai'i (2016) | 2.3 | 1.3 | 5.2 | 8.8 |
| Loyola Chicago (2018) | 1.0 | 3.1 | 4.4 | 8.5 |
| George Mason (2006) | 1.4 | 1.8 | 5.1 | 8.3 |
| Kent State (2002) | 2.7 | 0.8 | 4.4 | 7.9 |
| Bradley (2006) | 2.5 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 7.7 |
| Ohio (2012) | 2.7 | 3.2 | 1.7 | 7.6 |
| Western Kentucky (2008) | 3.2 | 0.8 | 3.5 | 7.5 |
| Gonzaga (2016) | 2.4 | 0.2 | 4.8 | 7.4 |
| Davidson (2008) | 2.5 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 7.0 |
| Stanford (2014) | 0.0 | 1.9 | 4.6 | 6.5 |
| Florida Gulf Coast (2013) | 2.1 | 0.0 | 4.4 | 6.5 |
Biggest Cinderella Run Benefactors
Virginia Commonwealth is the worthy No. 1 entry on the list, seeing an incredible surge in donations and recruiting interest after unexpectedly advancing to the Final Four in 2011.
(You'll see a lot of Atlantic 10 entries on here, with that conference producing more 21st Century Cinderella entries than any other.)
While VCU (which became the first team to advance from the First Four and reach the Final Four) saw a modest increase in applicants in the two years following its Final Four appearance, donations nearly tripled over that same span, resulting in an 8.5x increase over a five-year stretch beginning in 2009.
VCU's cumulative score of 19.96 out of 30 places it comfortably ahead of runner-up Oral Roberts, which shocked the world as a No. 15 seed en route to a Sweet 16 appearance in 2021. The Golden Eagles saw the most comprehensive reputation boost of any program on the list, ranking second in application growth and eighth in donation increases and recruiting rank change.
The Butler Bulldogs round out the top 3 despite seeing its application growth remain flat in the aftermath of its 2011 run to the NCAA title game as a No. 8 seed. Butler saw the biggest recruiting boost of any team on this list, and also fared well when it came to donation increases.
đ Application Boost Rankings
| Rank | Team | Year | Application Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| đĨ 1 | Gonzaga | 2000 | 10.0 |
| đĨ 2 | Oral Roberts | 2021 | 8.8 |
| đĨ 3 | Florida Atlantic | 2003 | 8.4 |
| 4 | Oregon State | 2021 | 7.0 |
| 5 | Southern Illinois | 2002 | 6.6 |
Mark Few's first season in Spokane was a roaring success, as he returned the Bulldogs to the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row. And while Gonzaga saw modest growth the previous year when then-coach Dan Monson guided Gonzaga to an Elite Eight berth, interest in the school skyrocketed following their second straight deep tournament run, with applications increasing by an absurd 37.6 percent in just three years.
Oral Roberts' unlikely push to a Sweet 16 spot led to a groundswell of interest in the three years following that run, with applications increasing by a whopping 32.2 percent in that stretch. The 2003 Florida Atlantic Owls â a No. 9 seed that advanced all the way to the Final Four â placed third with a three-year increase of 30.7 percent post-Cinderella run.
đĩ Donation Boost Rankings
| Rank | Team | Year | Donation Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| đĨ T1 | Nevada | 2004 | 10.0 |
| đĨ T1 | VCU | 2011 | 10.0 |
| đĨ 3 | UAB | 2004 | 7.6 |
| 4 | Butler | 2011 | 7.5 |
| 5 | Richmond | 2011 | 5.6 |
Two schools earned scores of 10.0 on our donations boost scale, but one made out far better than the other. The 2004 Nevada Wolf Pack must have felt like they hit the lottery following their Sweet 16 run as a 10-seed, seeing their donations increase by more than 800 percent over the subsequent three years.
VCU was no slouch, either, increasing its donation total by a whopping 234.2 percent in the three years following its Cinderella showing.
Alabama-Birmingham ranks third on the list by virtue of its 2004 run to the Sweet 16 as a No. 8 seed. The Blazers saw an increase of nearly 169 percent in annual donations in the three years following that incredible performance.
âšī¸ââī¸ Recruiting Boost Rankings
| Rank | Team | Year | Recruiting Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| đĨ 1 | Butler | 2011 | 10.0 |
| đĨ 2 | VCU | 2011 | 8.1 |
| đĨ 3 | Richmond | 2011 | 7.8 |
| 4 | Princeton | 2023 | 7.4 |
| 5 | Cornell | 2010 | 6.5 |
It's fair to say that 2011 was an underdog fan's fever dream â and several Cinderella programs from that March Madness run reaped immediate benefits.
The Bulldogs were the biggest beneficiaries from a recruiting standpoint, rising an incredible 108 spots in the 247 Sports recruitment rankings. Unfortunately, Butler couldn't build off its back-to-back national championship appearances, topping out with an appearance in the Sweet 16 in 2017 â the only time Butler has advanced past the second round since 2011.
Two other surprise teams from that 2011 tournament also saw significant boosts in their recruitment ranks. VCU places second on the list by virtue of its 108-spot jump, moving from just inside the top 150 to a spot in the top 80.
Richmond is close behind in third after experiencing an improvement of 65 spots (from 188th to 123rd).
đĸ Methodology
The teams are ranked on a scale from 0 to 10 in three categories: Application Growth, Donations and Recruiting Rank Change. The maximum score possible is 30.
Application growth and donation info courtesy the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) via the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES); recruitment data courtesy 247 Sports.
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