The Winner of the 2014 Heisman Memorial Trophy Is .

• Activity Number: 487
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Wednesday, August 12, 2015 : 8:30 AM to 10:20 AM
• Sponsor: Section on Statistics in Sports
• Author(s): Jessica Sanders* and Tracy Morris
• Companies: and University of Central Oklahoma
• Keywords: logistic regression ; Heisman Trophy ; football ; sports

Abstract

The Heisman Trophy is given annually to the best U.S. college football player. Sports journalists and previous Heisman winners cast ballots with a list of the voter's top three choices. Each first place vote receives three points, second place votes receive two points, and third place votes receive one point. The player with the most points is named the winner of the Heisman Trophy. There is some controversy surrounding the selection of Heisman Trophy winners. Specifically, critics have speculated the presence of selection bias with respect to region, position, conference, and school, arguing that the best player is not necessarily selected. This research investigated the presence of this bias. Data concerning 755 players, including nominees and winners from 1935 to 2013, were collected from www.sports-reference.com. Variables related to player ability as well as variables concerning school, geographic location, and other demographics were examined to determine what variables are significantly related to winning the trophy. A logistic regression model was developed to predict the winner of the Heisman Trophy. This model was then used to predict the winner of the 2014 Trophy.