Graduate Program

Kinesiology and Sports Studies

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Semester of Degree Completion

Spring 2020

Thesis Director

James R. Barkley

Thesis Committee Member

Kristin E. Brown

Thesis Committee Member

Steven J. Scher

Abstract

Home Field Advantage (HFA) is a well-established and documented phenomenon at both the collegiate and professional levels. There are many factors that contribute to home field advantage such as crowd involvement, travel considerations, and environmental factors. This research explores a couple of basic underlying mechanisms of HFA by focusing on how important field composition is in determining HFA in NCAA Division I men’s soccer. Field composition is thought of here in terms of surface type (i.e., artificial turf v. natural grass) and field dimensions (i.e., field length, field width and overall size). This study analyzes the last 5 years (2015 – 2019) of the NCAA Division 1 Men’s Soccer Tournament from the 2nd Round to the Elite Eight to determine what type of surface creates the biggest advantage to the home team.

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