Methods for ranking college sports coaches based on data envelopment analysis and PageRank

Two methods based on data envelopment analysis (DEA) and PageRank are proposed to rank college athletic coaches. The DEA‐based method uses four processes: first, the input factors must undergo the Kendall Consistency Check to ensure the feasibility and consistency of the result; second, the Data Reduction Factor epitomizes the input–output factors; third, the Range Transfer Approach standardizes the parameters and fourth, Efficiency Assessment Values for each coach are computed using a DEA model. The PageRank‐based method involves building a network for matching coaches whose algorithms are used for the ranking. Sensitivity analysis and general analysing methods are applied to examine and analyse the ranking results for baseball, basketball and football coaches. The PageRank‐based method also considers dynamic and diffusion relationships among coaches. The results are analysed to reveal possible features to improve the method.