I'm working on a project for my sports economics class to determine if, all else equal, having an on campus stadium affects win percentage in Division 1 college football. Here's what I need from you guys.

Let me know if:

• Your team has played at an off campus facility and moved to an on campus facility
• Your team has played at an on campus facility and moved to an off campus facility
• Your team has always played at an on campus facility
• Your team has always played at an off campus facility
  

***Provide years, so I'll be able to put together statistics for win percentage.

For instance, UAB has played at an off campus facility (Legion Field) since its football program's inception in 1991. They have been competing in Division 1 since 1996.

Lastly, let me know what you think. How much do you think having an on campus/off campus facility affects win percentage?

Tulane, SMU, UCF, Miami, Minnesota, UCLA, Louisville, Temple and Syracuse come to mind as teams that have played off campus.

I don't think it matters unless the stadium offered something unique that the opposition had to adjust to (weather, extremely loud student section, turf, etc.).

I would try to incorporate the presence of a local pro team into the study if that is within the requirements.

I don't think you will find a correlation between winning percentage and on campus stadium. I'd bet on a correlation between winning percentage and overall facilities. Example UMass has played at Gillette since moving up to FBS. But overall its football facilities are seriously lacking. The result is a crappy 2-22 record while playing in the MAC. On the other hand UConn plays in the Rent which is smaller and less upscale than Gillette. But its overall athletic facilities are first rate. The result was a quick rise to the top of the then BE and a BCS bowl appearance.

Off campus stadiums: UMass, UConn, Syracuse, Navy, Pitt, USF

Thanks for the assistance so far. I posted this information to other boards and did not receive as much positive feedback as here.

So far, my research has concluded that there are 25 schools currently playing in off campus facilities. Since 2000, I have noticed that 12 schools have built new facilities or simply moved (4 of which were located off campus previously). These schools are Akron, UCF, Florida Atlantic, and Minnesota.

The reason why I asked for extended help was to (1) help look further back in time by fans who may have personally witnessed the transition from off-campus to on-campus and (2) simply talk about the issue itself. It's an interesting one to me because UAB fans have been asking for an on-campus stadium for years. Some think that the stadium will lead to more wins but others point to schools such as Akron, Minnesota, and Florida Atlantic that have struggled since making the transition.

Once again - Thanks SeaBlue and Mikeinsec27 for provided information.

I think its a chicken egg type thing with on campus stadiums and winning, teams with on campus stadiums typically have larger budgets, success leads to athletic department revenue through donations, ticket sales, and conference affiliation and thus tv revenue. On the contrary on campus stadiums lead to greater fan support, thus increased revenue from tickets and donations which can boost a program.

(04-01-2014 09:46 PM)harley93davidson Wrote:  I think its a chicken egg type thing with on campus stadiums and winning, teams with on campus stadiums typically have larger budgets, success leads to athletic department revenue through donations, ticket sales, and conference affiliation and thus tv revenue. On the contrary on campus stadiums lead to greater fan support, thus increased revenue from tickets and donations which can boost a program.

I think that's a very fair assessment. Thanks!

First off, I want to again thank everyone who contributed to the conversation. For those of you who are interested, I'm posting today to provide the results of my research.

Question: Does playing at an on-campus stadium, holding all else equal, affect overall win percentage for Division 1-A college football programs?

Answer: Based on my results, teams do win more games when their stadium is located on-campus. However, the t-stat on the regression analysis was <2 (meaning the increase in win percentage for teams located on-campus was such a low percentage that it should be considered insignificant.

Quick notes:

• The research included 170 observations
• Football.stassen.com was used to compile win/loss records
• FootballGeography.com was used to classify teams as on-campus vs. off-campus
  

If you have any further questions, feel free to send me a PM and I'd be glad to answer them.

Are you also looking at "neutral site" games?