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?
Kentucky has always played in a home stadium. Interesting tidbit: the original Kentucky stadium, Stoll Field, is home to the first football game ever played in the South as well as the first game in the SEC. The Wikipedia page is interesting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoll_Field/McLean_Stadium
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.
(04-01-2014 07:05 PM)frenchbeef Wrote: Thank you BigBlueBlindness.
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.
The SEC is an odd mix from 1920's until 1950's. Most schools played a core of games at their home fields but in those years they played rivals at neutral sites. For instance Alabama and Auburn played at Legion Field in Birmingham until 1986. Auburn and Georgia played in Columbus Georgia until into the 1950's. Georgia and Florida play in Jacksonville and have for decades except for a few years in the 80's when they played home and home. Arkansas still plays games in Little Rock every year in addition to the home games in Fayetteville. Auburn played Tennessee in Birmingham for their home game until the late 1970's.
So in the SEC if you want to check neutral site games and their histories that might give you some data, but all members of the conference play most of their games in on campus stadiums.
(04-01-2014 07:05 PM)frenchbeef Wrote: Thank you BigBlueBlindness.
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.
The SEC is an odd mix from 1920's until 1950's. Most schools played a core of games at their home fields but in those years they played rivals at neutral sites. For instance Alabama and Auburn played at Legion Field in Birmingham until 1986. Auburn and Georgia played in Columbus Georgia until into the 1950's. Georgia and Florida play in Jacksonville and have for decades except for a few years in the 80's when they played home and home. Arkansas still plays games in Little Rock every year in addition to the home games in Fayetteville. Auburn played Tennessee in Birmingham for their home game until the late 1970's.
So in the SEC if you want to check neutral site games and their histories that might give you some data, but all members of the conference play most of their games in on campus stadiums.
Thank you JRsec! For simplicity sake, I'm going to omit games such as the ones you mentioned as long as the teams primarily played their games at an on campus facility.
Williams Brice (South Carolina's home stadium) is an interesting case. Its about 3 miles away from the main campus but is technically "on campus". We have played there since the 30s
Kenan Memorial Stadium (BKS or Beautiful Kenan Stadium) is located in the heart of Carolina's campus hidden away in a grove of majestic pines.
Kenan was opened in 1927. It is consistently ranked as one of the most scenic places to watch collegiate football.
Sanford stadium (University of Georgia) is modeled after Kenan.
In 1904, Texas AMC AD and professor of horticulture Edwin Kyle wanted a permanent site for playing football games. He wanted to purchase land across from campus to do it but the school told him no.
So, he fenced off a section of the southwest corner of campus that had been assigned to him as professor of horticulture for experimental crop techniques. Using $650 of his own money, he purchased a covered grandstand from the nearby Bryan fairgrounds and built wooden bleachers to raise the seating capacity to 500 people who came to watch the Aggies play at "Kyle's Field".
The name stuck.
(This post was last modified: 04-19-2014 10:47 AM by 10thMountain.)
(04-19-2014 10:42 AM)10thMountain Wrote: In 1904, Texas AMC AD and professor of horticulture Edwin Kyle wanted a permanent site for playing football games. He wanted to purchase land across from campus to do it but the school told him no.
So, he fenced off a section of the southwest corner of campus that had been assigned to him as professor of horticulture for experimental crop techniques. Using $650 of his own money, he purchased a covered grandstand from the nearby Bryan fairgrounds and built wooden bleachers to raise the seating capacity to 500 people who came to watch the Aggies play at "Kyle's Field".
The name stuck.
That is an awesome story 10th. I love history. Another man with a vision... Thanks for sharing that with us.
(04-19-2014 10:42 AM)10thMountain Wrote: In 1904, Texas AMC AD and professor of horticulture Edwin Kyle wanted a permanent site for playing football games. He wanted to purchase land across from campus to do it but the school told him no.
So, he fenced off a section of the southwest corner of campus that had been assigned to him as professor of horticulture for experimental crop techniques. Using $650 of his own money, he purchased a covered grandstand from the nearby Bryan fairgrounds and built wooden bleachers to raise the seating capacity to 500 people who came to watch the Aggies play at "Kyle's Field".
The name stuck.
That is an awesome story 10th. I love history. Another man with a vision... Thanks for sharing that with us.
Sounds to me as if Professor Kyle was the first 12th man!
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
*I have attached the regression analysis for anyone that would like to look at the information a little further.
If you have any further questions, feel free to send me a PM and I'd be glad to answer them.
(This post was last modified: 04-23-2014 04:57 PM by frenchbeef.)