Noah Sheagren
Research Mentor(s): Michael Mignano
Mentor Department: Movement Science
Authors: Noah Sheagren, Michael Mignano
Session: Session 5 (2:00pm – 2:50pm)
Presentation Type: Poster 52
Abstract
In recent years of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 (D1) Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football, a handful of teams have emerged as recruiting “powerhouses,†consistently bringing in high school’s most talented players. The purpose of the present study was to analyze the impact that high-school recruiting class rankings had on the Big 10 and SEC teams’ on-field performance in the 4-team playoff era, which lasted from 2014 until 2023. For this decade-long analysis, yearly class scores, average yearly recruit ratings, 5-star (rated 98-110), 4-star (rated 90-97), 3-star (rated 80-89), 2-star (rated 70-79), and unranked (rated <70) high-school recruits were found and averaged for all twenty-eight B10 and SEC teams based on 247sports.com’s yearly recruiting rankings. Data for class scores were averaged to rank each team 1-28. The variables that were considered to determine the significance of team recruiting were the team’s Bowl Game wins, Bowl Game Appearances, and Win Percentage (W%), through an analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Results indicated a statistically significant correlation between class score and W%. A significant positive correlation was found between 5-star recruits and W%, and a significant inverse correlation was found between 2-star recruits and W%. These results suggest that teams with the highest-ranked high-school recruiting classes over a more extended period of time showcase the highest levels of on-field success.
