It should not come as a surprise that the number of incidents of drunk driving, public drunkenness, and related issues increases on college football game day.  What may come as a surprise to some is the significant increase in the number of reported sexual assaults.

A recent study, "College Party Culture and Sexual Assault," published on the National Bureau of Economic Research [NBER], indicates that on college football game day, reports of sexual assault increases an average of 28%.  The study went further and divided the results into home and away games.  Reports of sexual assault increased 41% when a school's football team played a home game, and increased 15% when a team played away.

The report's co-authors studied 96 Division I schools that report to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Incident Reporting System.  Data from 1991 - 2012 was analyzed and researchers compared the number of reports of sexual assault on Saturdays with football games and Saturdays without football games.

Whereas most sexual assaults are committed by a person who knows the victim, the study also indicated that the likelihood of a stranger committing a sexual assault on a college football game day increased by 61%.

The study also makes the argument that although college football programs are subsidized by schools and students, these programs negatively affect the school community by creating a party culture that leads to sexual assault.  What are your thoughts?