The Impact of Proposition 48 on the Relationship Between Football Success and Football Player Graduation Rates

Abstract

A previous study finds a negative relationship between football success and football player graduation rates. The present study examines whether changes in freshman eligibility standards produced by Proposition 48 impact this relationship. Our data set contains the 2 years immediately prior to the implementation of Proposition 48 and the 2 years immediately after the implementation of Proposition 48. The main finding of this article is that although football success has a negative impact on football players’ graduation rates prior to Proposition 48, there is no such relationship post-Proposition 48.