Iowa State’s athletic success may be raising more than just school spirit.

A study conducted by the University of Arkansas reported that increased athletic success at a college may correlate with rising numbers of drop-outs among the student body.

The study, released in the Chronicle of Higher Education, compared graduation rates and athletic success of 97 Division 1-A schools during the course of two years. Results from the study reported that “colleges with the strongest basketball programs have a significantly lower six-year graduation rate” compared to other schools.

The sociology professors who conducted the study offered several theories for the results, such as students favoring basketball games over their homework, but some ISU students and faculty members don’t think it is a problem.

“My work ethic and attitude would still be the same whether the basketball team succeeded or failed,” said Levi Parke, freshman in computer engineering. “If you have a lot of things to do, you make time.”

Mark Lehan, freshman in pre-business, agreed that time management is important when balancing leisure activities and academics.

“When you have more stuff to do, you tend to prioritize,” he said. “You can always study some other time — the games are only at one time.”

Ron Deiter, professor of economics, said he didn’t notice a large drop in students’ attendance or classwork when the Iowa State basketball teams were in the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments.

“I don’t remember there being a lot of conflict with exams,” he said. However, Deiter said he could see how a successful athletic program may have a negative effect on students’ academics.

“I think you tend to have a larger, stronger following of fans,” he said. “That support gets manifested in travel, and being there takes time away from your academics.”

Andy Highfill, junior in aerospace engineering, said while his classes are important, he enjoys the games more.

“Basketball is my favorite sport,” he said. “If there was a game in town, I would definitely skip out on my studies.”

Kelly Johnson, senior in child and family services, said her school work is secondary to basketball games. Johnson said she missed only two of Iowa State’s home games and attended all of the men’s and women’s tournament basketball games.

“I’d never miss a game because of homework,” she said. “This is just one of my passions — someone else might have a priority of running every day.”

Brent Bruton, professor of sociology, said he thinks a school’s athletic success may be beneficial to students’ academics.

“If people identify more with their school, they might be more committed to it,” he said.

Highfill also said he thinks the games help his academics.

“They’re a stress reliever,” he said. “Even if we’re not doing well, I just like going to the games and getting rowdy.”

Lehan said he thinks student support and school spirit are important.

“If I was a basketball player, I’d want as many people watching as possible,” he said.