Anjela Govan, North Carolina State University


New Ranking Algorithms with Application to Sports

Abstract: A ranking is a technique of assigning an ordinal number (rank) to each object in a finite set. Ranking is done in any number of applications, political voting, rating colleges, and of course sports. There are numerous ranking algorithms based on various mathematical concepts which produce excellent results ranking sports teams. Here we present a new method, called GeM (Generalized Markov chains), which is a generalization of Google's ranking algorithm PageRank. Another new algorithm of interest is a modification of Klinberg's HITS idea that we have adapted to sports ranking in general and football in particular. We conclude with comparing both methods using National Football League statistics of the past several years.

Advisor: Carl Meyer (NCSU)