WHY HIGH-POVERTY SCHOOLS LOSE MORE FOOTBALL GAMES

Education, Local

SOURCE: AUSTIN AMERICAN STASTEMAN 

If Joe Frank Martinez, head football coach at South Austin’s Travis High School, could knock off a few items from his wishlist, he would have new helmets for his players, replace the decades-old equipment in the weight room, and feed his freshmen more than turkey and cheese sandwiches the coaches assemble before games.

Equipment and catered meals don’t necessarily win games, Martinez says, but he knows if he had a few more dollars to better train and feed his boys, he’d have a better shot at winning games. Last year, the varsity team didn’t win any games. The team won one game the year before.

“It’s almost not even fair. You’re going to have all these lack of resources and on top of that you want me to win? A lot of times we’re just trying to survive,” Martinez said.

Wealthy schools win more games

Large Central Texas schools with the highest poverty rates won a smaller precentage of football games bewteen 2008 and 2018 than schools with wealthier students. Source: Game results retrieved from Texashighschoolfootballhistory.com.

…0%-33.3%33.4%-66.6%66.7%-100%0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%Student Poverty rates of schoolsWin Percentage

Student Poverty rates of schools Win percentage
0%-33.3% 0.59
33.4%-66.6% 0.45
66.7%-100% 0.36

Travis High School, where 79% of students are from low-income families, isn’t the only Central Texas school with a high student poverty rate struggling to win football games. An American-Statesman analysis of the football records of 41 Class 5A and Class 6A high schools in Central Texas over the past decade found a correlation between student poverty and performance on the football field: The wealthier the student body, the better the football team.

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