In 1987, the Southern Methodist University (SMU) football program received the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA’s) harshest penalty, often referred to as the “death penalty.” SMU was caught committing two or more major violations of NCAA rules in $<5$ years. Therefore, under the repeat offender clause, their football program was terminated for the 1987–1988 school year, and they chose to take the next season off as well. In the years following the death penalty, the team struggled to find success. Using the synthetic control method, this article measures the cost of the death penalty in terms of athletic performance and the university’s finances.

1987 年，南卫理公会大学 (SMU) 的足球项目受到了美国大学体育协会 (NCAA) 最严厉的处罚，通常被称为“死刑”。SMU 被发现犯有两次或两次以上严重违反 NCAA 规则的行为$<5$年。因此，根据重犯条款，他们在 1987-1988 学年的足球计划被终止，他们也选择了下个赛季的休假。在死刑之后的几年里，该团队努力寻求成功。本文采用综合控制方法，从运动成绩和大学财政两方面衡量死刑的成本。