Analysis of Factors Influencing Wisconsin Public High School Football Programs in All Divisions

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between a set of specific factors of a Wisconsin Public High School and the impact of these factors on the success of the school’s football team. The researcher used the top eight teams of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association’s (WIAA) seven divisions along with a random selection of the bottom eight of each division over a three year span. The specific factors that were analyzed were the median household income of the school districts, the total co-curricular expenditures of each school, geographical area distinction, and the average Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examination (WKCE) total scores of each school. This study used a two-sample t-test assuming equal variances to analyze and evaluate the data that was gathered in this study. Furthermore, a single factor ANOVA was conducted to analyze data gathered in the geographical area distinction category. Results of the study of each particular category do not necessarily guarantee that a school’s football team would have success. However, what the analysis does support is which specific factors are more important for the success of a school’s football team. This study found a significant difference in certain factors of high schools with football teams between those finishing in the top eight and those finishing outside of the top eight in each WIAA division. A significant difference was not found between the total co-curricular expenditures of a school district of winning and non-winning teams. However, the researcher found that median household income of the school district and average WKCE total scores of each school in specific divisions played pivotal roles in influencing the success of a school’s football program. Furthermore, the geographical distinction played a significant role among winning teams. Further research should focus on identifying football or athletic budget data specific to a school to determine if this factors into the success of a school’s football team.