The Effectiveness of College Football Recruiting Ratings in Predicting Team Success: A Longitudinal Study

Research in Business and Economics Journal, 14, 4-22.

19 Pages Posted: 23 Aug 2019 Last revised: 29 Nov 2023

See all articles by Jeffrey A. Mankin

Jeffrey A. Mankin

Finally Learn; Lipscomb University - Department of Accounting, Finance & Economics

Julio Rivas

Lipscomb University - Department of Accounting, Finance & Economics

Jeffrey Jay Jewell

Lipscomb University - Department of Accounting, Finance & Economics

Date Written: 2021

Abstract

American college football is a multibillion-dollar industry for the 130 schools that play at the highest level. College football is unique in that it must recruit student athletes, unlike high school or pro football. An entire multimillion-dollar industry has developed to provide recruiting ratings and team-specific information for rabid fans. The question in this study is “Do recruiting rankings matter?” This study uses the 247Sports class ratings and team ratings to predict the future success of teams. The Sagarin final ratings are used as a proxy for team success. The results indicate that knowing recruiting rankings explains up to 36% of the variability of the Sagarin ratings.

Keywords: college football, college athletics, recruiting ratings, NCAA, Sagarin, student athlete

JEL Classification: Z20, Z23, I23

Suggested Citation

Mankin, Jeffrey A. and Rivas, Julio and Jewell, Jeffrey Jay, The Effectiveness of College Football Recruiting Ratings in Predicting Team Success: A Longitudinal Study (2021). Research in Business and Economics Journal, 14, 4-22., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3187688

Jeffrey A. Mankin (Contact Author)

Finally Learn ( email )

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HOME PAGE: http://https://finallylearn.com/

Lipscomb University - Department of Accounting, Finance & Economics ( email )

One University Park Drive
Nashville, TN 37204-3951
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.lipscomb.edu

Julio Rivas

Lipscomb University - Department of Accounting, Finance & Economics ( email )

One University Park Drive
Nashville, TN 37204-3951
United States

Jeffrey Jay Jewell

Lipscomb University - Department of Accounting, Finance & Economics ( email )

One University Park Drive
Nashville, TN 37204-3951
United States
6159665769 (Phone)

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