For those of you who think sports don't do anything for universities

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?name=rovell_darren
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Can you spare a dime?
The Patriots' run will be an interesting case study in the debate over whether sports success necessarily leads to school success. Two years ago, Saint Joseph's made a nice run as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Today, the school has the highest number of applications to sift through and the highest donation rate in its history, according to The Washington Times. But some will argue that Saint Joe's received more attention for its run because the Hawks had an undefeated regular season.

Then there's Gonzaga, which received 1,841 applications in 1999, the first year it made a dent in the tournament. Today, Gonzaga receives more than 4,000 applications and donations are at an all-time high, according to the Times. Kudos to GMU for trying to cash in quickly on the success. The front of its athletics Web site has a link to donate directly to the school. The site notes that donations made to the booster club after March 23 will not affect priority seats for the Final Four.

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