Event Title
Are High School Athletes From The Southeast More Likely to be Drafted Into The NFL?
Faculty Mentor
Benjamin Scafidi
Keywords
Benjamin Scafidi
Abstract
In recent years the popularity of NCAA College Football has skyrocketed. This popularity is extremely prevalent in the Southeastern region of the United States, where the SEC has dominated the national scene the past decade, winning 7 straight BCS national championships from 2006-2012. This has led many to speculate that players from the Southeast are generally superior football players to those from other regions. This paper provides an analysis on the effect of a player’s home region on their chances of being drafted into the NFL, all else equal. Using eight years of data, I found that the majority of the top ranked high school players do indeed come from the Southeast. However, after controlling for other variables like player quality, I found no statistical evidence that being from the Southeast benefits these players in terms of getting drafted. Thus, home region has no effect on a college football player’s chances of being drafted into the NFL.
Session Name:
Race, Gender, and Geography in Sports Economics and Media
Start Date
4-4-2014 9:00 AM
End Date
4-4-2014 10:00 AM
Location
HSB 300
Are High School Athletes From The Southeast More Likely to be Drafted Into The NFL?
HSB 300
In recent years the popularity of NCAA College Football has skyrocketed. This popularity is extremely prevalent in the Southeastern region of the United States, where the SEC has dominated the national scene the past decade, winning 7 straight BCS national championships from 2006-2012. This has led many to speculate that players from the Southeast are generally superior football players to those from other regions. This paper provides an analysis on the effect of a player’s home region on their chances of being drafted into the NFL, all else equal. Using eight years of data, I found that the majority of the top ranked high school players do indeed come from the Southeast. However, after controlling for other variables like player quality, I found no statistical evidence that being from the Southeast benefits these players in terms of getting drafted. Thus, home region has no effect on a college football player’s chances of being drafted into the NFL.