#36: Applying Network Theory in Analyzing Differential Recruiting Outcomes — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Thomas Carr
Katherin Hilson
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Sarah Terrill

#36: Applying Network Theory in Analyzing Differential Recruiting Outcomes

Name: David Budzisz
Major: Management & Marketing
Hometown: Palatine, IL
Faculty Sponsor: Carter Rockhill
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Independent research

Abstract

NCAA Men’s Basketball is composed of 351 programs from universities across the United States, all of which are accompanied by a coaching staff that has been meticulously selected to foster the greatest amount of success for each individual program. As is the nature of competitive sports, certain coaching staffs are more successful than others. There could be many factors as to what makes a college coach successful, such as quality of players, the conference played in, the strength of schedule, etc. Applying the ideology of network theory in this study could provide insight into a pattern that exists for why certain coaches have greater successes than others.

Network theory looks at the collection of one’s personal network of connections. When applying this theory to Division I Men’s Basketball coaches, this includes factors such as what schools they have coached, which coaches they have coached under, the success of the program, the tournament experience, etc. In this presentation, social network theory will be used to analyze the patterns as to how successful Division I Men’s Basketball coaches came into their position.

This study uses the measure of betweenness to classify the strength of coaches’ networks. Using betweenness, this study strives to reveal a connection between a coach’s betweenness score and their success in recruiting new players when coaching at a new institution, defined as “Differential Recruiting.” The research question for this project is, “Do coaches with high betweenness have improved success in recruiting when transferring to a new institution?”. This study aims to fill the gap in the current literature on the topic and provide a practical application to coaches and universities in terms of hiring new coaches.

Poster file

Submit date: March 28, 2022, 7:58 p.m.