Taking a data approach to college basketball, I look at how the NCAA Tournament effects the notoriety of Butler University and why basketball is such a great investment. Blog post at www.naimul.com

1. The Impact of Basketball Success on Small Schools What March Madness Means to Butler University

2. The 2010 NCAA Tournament Last year, with their Cinderella journey and subsequent loss to Duke, interest in Butler University skyrocketed. Their Wikipedia page saw more hits than ever before, and on the 28th it climbed to nearly 37k hits in one day. Search interest in Butler was equally massive. Google insights for search climbed, spiked, and then fell to normal levels at the end of the tournament. There is no denying that more people were more aware of Butler at that time than at any other time in recent history. 2010 National Championship Game Source: Google Insights, Wikipedia

3. The same thing is happening this year The same thing is happening this year. Search is spiking, interest is mounting with each consecutive tournament upset, and Butler is trending at the top of Google’s hot topics list. The interest this year is even greater, as fans and analysts are stunned by their repeat performance. Butler defeats Wisconsin Source: Google Insights, Wikipedia

4. Who is so interested in this stuff? Search interest is highest among states that contain potential competitors, namely: Kanas and Ohio State. The question on everyone’s mind: Where is Butler? No one is more interested than people in Indiana, but worldwide, people are starting to learn more about this little school. Especially at Kansas and Ohio State. Source: Google Insights

5. Online Conversation is Exploding Butler beats Florida Butler beats Wisconsin The internet is abuzz with conversation about Butler. People on forums are discussing the team with renewed vigor, and in light of their win today over Florida the trend line is off the chart. Below, the orange line represents mentions on twitter. It’s so steep I couldn’t even get a volume number off it. Bloggers are writing like crazy and represent a majority of the conversation, its likely that in the next few days the internet is going to keep churning out conversation in anticipation of the Final Four. Source: Radian 6

6. So, what does this mean for Butler? Not a whole lot, just yet. Traffic on Butler.edu in the past month is up 40%, which is great, but it means that a whole lot of online conversation isn’t translating over to site visits. What their basketball success does mean is that more people are aware of Butler than ever before. Two years of fantasy runs, even after losing key seniors, has established Brad Stevens and the Bulldogs as a force to be reckoned with. Almost universally they are tournament darlings, and for those unlucky enough to have seen their teams drop of the dance, rooting for the under(bull)dogs doesn’t seem so bad. For the school, it is a national spotlight unlike any other. Way to go Butler! Source: Alexa.com

7. blog.wcgworld.com Go Heels.