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A strike against those arguing for the benefits of successful college football programs, college male's grades tend to go down when their university's football team wins games, new research finds. And it happens as a direct result of the boozy culture surrounding football programs. More victories means more celebratingw which means less studying. As big college sports programs face scrutiny for all the money thrown at them in light of other university budget cuts, the research doesn't bolster the argument that winning university sports programs enhance the academic side of the collegiate experience.

Looking at University of Oregon student transcripts over 8 year and football wins over that same period, researchers Jason M. Lindo, Isaac D. Swensen, Glen R. Waddell calculated that a 25 percent increase in the football team's winning percentage leads males to earn GPAs as if their SAT scores were 27 points lower. Yet, the researchers admit this does not take into account grade inflation over the years. But, as you can see in this chart below, as team wins go-up, male GPA suffers.

In addition to looking at grades, the researchers also collected surveys, asking students if football success decreases study time. "24 percent of males report that athletic success either 'Definitely' or 'Probably' decreases their study time, compared to only 9 percent of females," write Lindo, Swensen and Waddell, leading them to attribute the grade drop to partying.