Two things quickly caught Roger Thompson’s eye last week when the University of Oregon held a student recruiting open house in Southern California:
The large, overflow turnout of prospective applicants and the number who arrived in Marcus Mariota jerseys.
"There were so many high school students walking to our event wearing No. 8 jerseys, and that was pretty cool," said Thompson, the school’s vice president for enrollment management.
The University of Oregon says it is riding a rising tide of interest thanks in large part to the success of its 13-1 football team and Mariota, the Hawaii-born Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, who leads the Ducks into Monday’s inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship Game against Ohio State.
Thompson, as first reported by the Oregonian newspaper, likes to call it the "Mariota Magic" — a takeoff on the so-called "Flutie Factor," the impact 1984 Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie is said to have had on Boston College.
"Any time you have a program doing this well, it brings an amazing sense of energy and awareness to the institution, which definitely transfers over to our admissions numbers and overall donations," said Tim Clevenger, UO associate vice president for communications, marketing and brand management.
Thompson said, "I mean, students get to know the University of Oregon through fall Saturdays and football, but we have a lot going on Monday through Fridays, too."
UO’s application deadline for the 2015-16 school year is later this month, so overall numbers aren’t yet available, but Clevenger said, "They are trending better than we would normally see."
In addition, Oregon used this fall to kick off its $2 billion capital campaign.
Meanwhile, Craig Furuya, president of the University of Oregon Alumni Association Hawaii Chapter, said, "We have definitely seen increases in both attendance at our events and the types of people who want to become involved with our (alumni) chapter."
Thompson said, "I don’t know how, if you are a student or a parent and you heard Marcus’ Heisman acceptance speech (in December), you couldn’t come away more impressed not just with him as an individual, but with the University of Oregon. I think he is a tremendous representative for the university."
Clevenger said his son, Carson, who is of Marshallese ancestry, "was watching the Heisman speech, and when Marcus gave the shout-out to the Polynesian players, he said, ‘That’s where I want to go.’"
Furuya said, "I even see kids who in elementary school want to go to Oregon. You never really saw that before."
Saint Louis School President Walter Kirimitsu said Mariota has also affected his alma mater, which he thanked in his Heisman acceptance speech. "This certainly provides Saint Louis School a very positive and encouraging platform to build upon. We have had an increase in inquiries (and) application for enrollment, but it is too early to tell whether that transforms into actual increased enrollment. The same holds true with donations and gifts."
Todd Fleming, director of college counseling at ‘Iolani School, said: "Colleges definitely see (enrollment) bumps. I have friends who worked at Boston College when Flutie threw that Hail Mary pass, and the next year they had tons of (applications). We’ve seen schools like Butler get a bump in applications after the team made a huge run in the (NCAA men’s basketball) tournament.
"I would be surprised if Oregon doesn’t see an increase in Hawaii applications over the next year."
Thompson said Oregon held an open house in Southern California surrounding its Rose Bowl visit in 2010, but this time, "we had a much bigger crowd, more engaged students, and the energy in the room was unbelieveable. I think football and Marcus’ accomplishments contributed to that along with a whole host of other things."
UO will hold additional recruiting open houses in Texas, surrounding the national championship game in Dallas, and is scheduling similar events in Hawaii this spring, officials said.
Fleming said about 30 ‘Iolani students per year apply to Oregon, but the impact of Mariota likely won’t be really measured until next year, when the current juniors complete their application process.
"We hope our students look at lots of reasons for the schools on their lists," Fleming said, but he acknowledged, "Our students have always liked Oregon, and it probably helps having a local guy do so well there.
"It will be interesting to see statewide, but we’re probably a few months early to know whether it will be a big impact. Next Monday might push it even further."
