You won't find this in a plumber's manual, but it turns out the way to stop-up a brain drain is with a football.

Last Friday night Ohio State University became the hottest institute of higher education in the nation because the Buckeyes beat the Miami Hurricanes in the Fiesta Bowl to win the national football championship.

If they could have outrun the players to mid-field, the dean of admissions and vice-president of development undoubtedly would have tried to carry Coach Jim Tressel off on their shoulders.

That's because high school seniors who may have been thinking East Coast Ivy suddenly started wondering what it would be like to be part of the Big 10 culture in Columbus. It's because alumni, enthused over the gridiron glories of the scarlet and gray, may reach for their checkbooks the next time they get letters from their alma mater seeking support.

"We intend to capitalize on (this)," OSU President Karen Holbrook said Tuesday. "We are in the national spotlight right now. We will use the experience to get out other messages."

For those of you who disdain the value of college athletics, think about this: The OSU football team may have done more to improve higher education in Ohio this year than the state legislature. That's because football players, unlike many lawmakers, know how to keep focused on the goal line.

Dr. Holbrook took over as Ohio State's president last October. Before fleeing to the state university system of Maryland last year, her predecessor, William Kirwan, accused the General Assembly and Gov. Bob Taft of treating higher education "as a balancing account for the state budget." Dr. Kirwan traced the state's economic decline to a lack of support for higher education. Lack of support means the brightest students are attracted to schools elsewhere and once they leave, then tend not to come back, he said. Hence the term "brain drain."

Good universities get the brightest students, who graduate, become successful, generate wealth and jobs and create a smart, prosperous society. At least that's the long view. But legislators are not known for long-term investment strategies. Not long after Dr. Kirwan made those comments in the fall of 2001, state aid to Ohio State was cut by $28 million. OSU then became the first state school in Ohio to lift the cap on tuition, which this year went up another nine percent.

The state is looking at a $4 billion deficit this year, which Dr. Holbrook acknowledges means more bad news for colleges from the legislature and more tuition hikes. Which in turn means more top quality high school brains looking for their college opportunities elsewhere.

Which brings us back to last week's Fiesta Bowl.

On a typical day during the fall quarter last year, Ohio State University's main Web site recorded 2,749,058 hits, many of them from potential students seeking information on admissions, financial aid and programs of study - kids wondering if this school might be a place they would like to spend four years of their time and a big chunk of their parents' money. On Jan. 6, the Monday after OSU won the championship, the school's Web site recorded 4,163,523 hits.

Barbara Snyder, interim vice president for university relations, already has a promotions program geared up called "Champions, Both On and Off the Field." She hopes some of those high school kids hitting the Web site will notice that in addition to having a great football team, Ohio State ranks among the top five universities in the nation in industry-funded research, and among the top schools in the number of PhDs granted to African Americans. She has to move fast because she knows the shine on this championship won't last long. As soon as basketball season hits March Madness the Web sites at other schools will start lighting up.

But for the moment, that gurgle you hear is the sound of a drain clogging up.

Contact David Wells at 768-8310; fax: 768-8610; e-mail: dwells@enquirer.com. Cincinnati.Com keyword: Wells.