Davidson’s “Sweet 16” Appearance: Google, T-Shirts and Doughnuts By the Numbers

March 28, 2008

Contact:
Stacey Schmeidel
704/682-2629

Davidson College has been getting a lot of attention since the 10^th-seed Wildcats upset 2^nd-seed Georgetown in the 2^nd round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, March 23.

In advance of Davidson’s Friday night game against 3^rd-seed Wisconsin, here’s an informal look at how the tournament is affecting some of Davidson’s numbers.

Average regular daily sales at Davidson College Bookstore before Sunday, March 23: $1,700
Daily sales at Davidson College Bookstore on Wednesday, March 26 (the first day “Sweet 16” t-shirts were available): $35,000

#1 – Place of “Davidson College” on Googletrends’ list of most-searched words Sunday night (“hotness trend: volcanic”)
#4 –Googletrends’ Sunday night ranking of the search term “Davidson University”
#10—Googletrends’ Sunday night ranking of search term “Davidson Wildcats”
#11—Googletrends Sunday night ranking of search term “Stephen Curry”

Teams with bulldog mascots that have been beaten by Davidson in the NCAA tournament: 2

Bulldog toys stuffed into the mouth of the Wildcat statue on the Davidson campus: 1

Number of consecutive games Davidson has won to date: 24 (longest winning streak in the country)

Players on Davidson’s team: 14
Players who come from countries outside the U.S.: 6
Players who speak French fluently: At least 4

Years Bob McKillop has coached at Davidson: 19
Percentage of McKillop’s four-year players who have graduated in that period: 100

Percentage increase in transfer inquiries received by Davidson’s Admission Office since Sunday’s win over Georgetown: 1,200 percent
Since Sunday, calls to the Admission Office inquiring about Davidson’s application deadline (which has already passed): 10
Unsolicited applications received since Sunday, even though Davidson’s deadline has passed: 1

Reported number of Facebook “friend” requests received by one member of the Davidson basketball team after Sunday’s victory: 1,800

Miles from the Davidson campus in Davidson, N.C. to Ford Field in Detroit, Mich. (the arena hosting Davidson’s “Sweet 16” game against Wisconsin): 648.65
Buses secured by the college to transport interested students to the game (Davidson’s Board of Trustees created a fund to cover the cost): 7
Students making the trip by bus: Approximately 350
Seating capacity of Ford Field for the NCAA Tournament: 72,000

Students, faculty, staff, alumni, townspeople and others who rallied to wave goodbye to the team when the Wildcats’ bus left campus Wednesday, March 26: Perhaps 1,000

Doughnuts consumed at the on-campus “pep rally” broadcast during the CBS Early Show Thursday, March 27: 600
Times the Pep Band led pep rally guests in rousing versions of “Sweet Caroline”: 2

Year in which Davidson last made it into the "Sweet Sixteen": 1969

Days that Tom Ross ’72 has been Davidson’s president (he counts): 241

Average days per year that it’s a great day to be a Wildcat: 365

Davidson is a highly selective independent liberal arts college for 1,700 students. Since its establishment in 1837 by Presbyterians, the college has graduated 23 Rhodes Scholars and is consistently regarded as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country.

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