By Holly Menino

EUGENE, Ore. -- The Ducks' Rose Bowl win goes way beyond the initial thrill of the team winning the game.

A win of this magnitude puts the University of Oregon in a place it hasn't been in a long time and gives the school even more tools when it comes to attracting students and getting donor support.

The immediate benefits of winning the big game were easy to see and hear directly after the Rose Bowl ended.

The third straight BCS appearance by the Duck football team gave the University of Oregon that much more exposure on the national stage.

"Certainly, we couldn't afford to buy four hours of advertising on a Saturday afternoon that's focused on the University of Oregon, but big time college athletics gives us that kind of exposure," said UO Director of Admissions Brian Henley.

Henley says the admissions department is using that exposure to showcase the academic opportunities available to students. That effort seems to be working. In the past four years.

There's been more than a 100 percent increase in admission applications.

"In 2007, we had around 11,000 applications for admission. In 2011 we had somewhere in the neighborhood of 22,000," Henley said.

Last fall the UO saw record enrollment at 24,500 students.

But it's not just the quantity of students interested in attending the UO. It's also the quality.

Henley says last year's freshman class was the most academically prepared.

As more students seek enrollment, the UO is getting more selective with who gets in.

"I would like to think that Oregon has a number of different reasons why students have come here to study for academics, but we all freely admit that the football and the investment in athletics has helped us tremendously," said UO Managing Director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center Paul Swangard.

It also doesn't hurt when it comes to donor support.

"There's absolutely more people giving. There's more money being given," Swangard said.

That money isn't hard to spot. Take a quick walk around campus and most people can see the benefits.

"I still think it does wonderful things to create an environment where people are just excited to be on this campus and students are excited to be here," Swangard said.

The average GPA of freshmen entering the UO is about a 3.6.

Henley says the high caliber of students leads to increased retention and graduation rates down the road.