Home Field Advantage:
Fact or Fiction?
The hurrah of fans in a packed stadium and the blow of the first whistle always sound better when teams are on their home-turf. For one reason or another, athletes and fans alike believe playing on their home field gives them an advantage though statistics show this theory may be on the decline.
The hurrah of fans in a packed stadium and the blow of the first whistle always sound better when teams are on their home-turf. For one reason or another, athletes and fans alike believe playing on their home field gives them an advantage though statistics show this theory may be on the decline.
Over the past 15 years, Washington and Lee’s fall team sports have been highly successful. From multiple NCAA tournament appearances from the Men’s and Women’s Soccer teams to ODAC tournament titles from Football, Field Hockey, and Volleyball teams, victory is not infrequent for the mighty Generals. Though there is a definite edge for teams playing at home, the winning margin of home vs. away games seems to be decreasing for many reasons. However, current athletes still believe their teams perform better at home due to fans, their field or court, the locker rooms, and no effects from travel weakening their play.
W&L Volleyball has won a staggering 358 of 495 games over the last 15 years. Of these games 158 of them were at home wins and 92 were away wins. Without looking at neutral site games it is clear that there is some truth to advantage on their home-court.
In speaking with a few of the volleyball players they all noted that the fans play an integral role in how they perform. Because the gym is such a small space in comparison to outdoor sports, the cheering is prominent and is a sizable component of the energy of the game.
Likewise, the W&L Field Hockey team has won 157 of 269 games since 2008. Of these games, 100 of them were home wins and only 46 were away wins. Again excluding neutral site games, Field Hockey tends to show better here in Lexington.
“For field hockey in specific, having one of the only Astro turfs in the conference provides a huge advantage over other teams. On an Astro turf, the game is faster and can surprise other teams who aren’t used to it.”
Member of 2023 W&L Field Hockey Team
Practicing on the Astro turf field while other teams play on different material sets the Generals apart from the rest of the conference.
As for Men’s and Women’s soccer, Watt Field is the perfect place for fans to gather around the renowned white fence and cheer on the Generals, but many soccer players attribute their team’s home success to the effect travel has on players.
During their 2021 season the Men’s Soccer team played 21 games, excluding a singular neutral site game. Their winning percentage at home was 85% while their away winning percentage was 86%. Not to mention, they still won their neutral site game (in Atlanta). So how much of an effect did the travel really have?
Women’s Soccer in their 2022 season showed similar statistics winning almost 88% of their away games and only 60% of their home games. So yes, as much fun as it is to have your locker room, the familiarity of a field you practice on and your friends cheering you on, it may not actually make the difference you think it does.
W&L Football’s records were inconsistent with the other sports. We see somewhat of a rollercoaster for them when it comes to winning and losing. Garrett LeRose has been named head coach since 2007 and we have seen an overall upward trend of winning games since his arrival.
All of this goes to say, there are likely other factors which do affect the play of our fall sports team including strength of schedule, both home and away, the weather on the occasion (snow, rain and other extreme conditions, not just “it’s hot” or “it’s cold”) and injuries on the team.
Though statistics show there is a trend of winning a higher percentage of home games than away games, there are inconsistencies with this assumption that cannot be ignored, especially when supplemented with the fact that teams’ records overall are trending in the winning direction. If you are an athlete and are playing on someone else’s home turf, don’t be discouraged. Chances are you could lower their home field record and go against the theory most sports-lovers swear by: “Home Field Advantage.”