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Ranking College Football Teams: A Neural Network Approach

Author

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  • Rick L. Wilson

    (Department of Management, College of Business Administration, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma 74074)

Abstract

During the past decade, almost all NCAA Division 1-A college football seasons have ended in controversy. This occurs because it is the only collegiate sport in which a national champion is not determined on the playing field. At present, two bias-ridden opinion polls are used to name the champion, and existing computer-based models provide questionable results or use methods that are not publicly known (or both!). I have developed an improved method of determining a fair ranking of college football teams using neural networks. The recent 1993 football season serves as an example. The analysis shows that Florida State and Nebraska were properly matched in the Orange Bowl to determine the national champion in 1993 and that Notre Dame had no valid claim for being named the national champion, and it illustrates flaws in existing computer-based ranking models.

Suggested Citation

  • Rick L. Wilson, 1995. "Ranking College Football Teams: A Neural Network Approach," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 25(4), pages 44-59, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:inm:orinte:v:25:y:1995:i:4:p:44-59
    DOI: 10.1287/inte.25.4.44
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Koning, Ruud H. & Koolhaas, Michael & Renes, Gusta & Ridder, Geert, 2003. "A simulation model for football championships," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 148(2), pages 268-276, July.
    2. Young William A & Holland William S & Weckman Gary R, 2008. "Determining Hall of Fame Status for Major League Baseball Using an Artificial Neural Network," Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports, De Gruyter, vol. 4(4), pages 1-46, October.
    3. repec:dgr:rugsom:01a65 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Lebovic, James H. & Sigelman, Lee, 2001. "The forecasting accuracy and determinants of football rankings," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 105-120.
    5. C. Richard Cassady & Lisa M. Maillart & Sinan Salman, 2005. "Ranking Sports Teams: A Customizable Quadratic Assignment Approach," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 35(6), pages 497-510, December.
    6. Joseph Martinich, 2002. "College Football Rankings: Do the Computers Know Best?," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 32(5), pages 85-94, October.

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