New Study Finds Connection Between States With Legal Weed and College Basketball Recruiting Stats

As more states across the country legalize marijuana for recreational use, the influx of new residents is seemingly having an effect on the sports being played in each state—specifically, college basketball. A new study published in the Journal of Sports Economics illuminates just how more lax cannabis laws are apparently changing basketball game results.

Researchers examined recruiting data from 2003 to 2019 and found that marijuana legalization appears to be an "important, but complex, driver of college sports recruiting." When it comes to college basketball, teams in states where cannabis consumption is legal have an average 3.7-slot improvement in recruiting rankings. "In absolute terms, being located in a state with legal marijuana exerts an effect on recruiting that is 50 percent as strong as having a new coach," the study said.

Interestingly, the opposite is true when it comes to football. On average, states with legal cannabis rank approximately 2.9 slots worse than those in states who haven't legalized the plant.

"Colleges in states with legal recreational marijuana use can expect improved recruiting outcomes in basketball, but reduced recruiting prowess in football," the authors wrote. "In both cases, the effects are large, suggesting that interested parties (e.g., coaches, administrators, and fans) of other NCAA sports should consider marijuana laws a potential driver of recruiting effects."

The study didn't use data regarding individual athletes, so they admitted that their findings are "merely conjecture." One hypothesis they offered was that "[the] findings and the NBA’s lax policies may both be manifestations of a culture that deems marijuana [acceptable]," noting that "college recruits may feel empowered to use the drug in college and may choose to attend a college in a state where recreational use is permitted."

"Based on our results, we can anticipate that colleges in these states will enjoy improved basketball recruiting and on-court performance in the coming years, relative to their peers," the study concluded. “These same colleges can expect adverse recruiting effects in football, leading to worsened on-field performance in future seasons."

Of course, you need to be 21 or older to buy cannabis in these states, so it might be as illicit a part of the college experience for these players as underage drinking.