Downloads

https://doi.org/10.62836/jissh.v3i4.0039
Wang, T. (Jason). (2026). The Formation, Maintenance, and Mobility of Status Hierarchy in High School Football Teams: A Sociological Study of Starter and Substitute Positions. Journal of Integrated Social Sciences and Humanities, 3(4), 0039. https://doi.org/10.62836/jissh.v3i4.0039
Volume 3, Issue 4, 2026

The Formation, Maintenance, and Mobility of Status Hierarchy in High School Football Teams: A Sociological Study of Starter and Substitute Positions

American football is a highly popular sport worldwide. A football team consists of starters and substitutes, with the former accounting for the majority of the playing time. In addition, they enjoy significant prestige and influence within the team. Traditional literature suggests that ability-related factors are the most critical determinants of starter/substitute status, ignoring the importance of social factors. Based on Social Stratification Theory, this study collected the perspectives of 25 high school and college varsity football players and two team coaches. It also examined the determinants of starter/substitute positions, which include 15 relevant influence factors. These factors exert differential effects on player mobility between starter and substitute positions at the beginning of the season and during the season. The 15 factors were further grouped into three domains: Ability-related Factors, Social Factors, and Opportunities. Due to the Matthew Effect, starters are not easily displaced by substitutes. In order to counteract the Matthew Effect, four approaches were identified: Physical Development, Learning from the Sidelines, Individualized Training, and Trust Building. These findings extend Social Stratification Theory to the domain of competitive sports, elucidating mechanisms to mitigate the Matthew Effect.

sports American football starters substitutes backup players mobility mechanisms social stratification theory Matthew effect

References

  1. Mankin JA, Rivas J, Jewell JJ. The Effectiveness of College Football Recruiting Ratings in Predicting Team Success: A Longitudinal Study. Research in Business and Economics Journal 2021; 14: 4–22. https://ssrn.com/abstract=3187688.
  2. Hills SP, Barwood MJ, Radcliffe JN, et al. Profiling the Responses of Soccer Substitutes: A Review of Current Literature. Sports Medicine 2018; 48: 2255–2269.
  3. Statista. Average Playing Career Length in the National Football League (in Years). 2022. Available online: https://www.statista.com/s/nfl-length-of-player-careers (accessed on 10 October 2026).
  4. Iguchi J, Matsunami M, Hojo T, et al. Physical and Performance Characteristics Related to Starter Status, Position, and Division in Japanese Collegiate American-Football Players. Isokinetics and Exercise Science 2022; 30(1): 39–46.
  5. Johnson QR, Yang Y, Cabarkapa D, et al. Key Performance Indicators for College American Football Starters: An Exploratory Study. Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology 2025; 10(1): 19.
  6. Jackson C. NFL Positional Value in Terms of Salary Cap Spending: Why Are Running Backs Undervalued? CMC Senior Theses; 2024. Available online: https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/3640 (accessed on 10 October 2026).
  7. Chandran A, Morris SN, Powell JR, et al. Epidemiology of Injuries in National Collegiate Athletic Association Men’s Football: 2014–2015 through 2018–2019. Journal of Athletic Training 2021; 56(7): 643–650.
  8. Evans B, Adams CP, Pitts J, et al. NFL QB Development—The Role of Competing QBs, Rookie Playing Time, and Team Quality. The American Economist 2025; 70(1): 146–161.
  9. Stern JH. Building a Winning NFL Roster: Best Practices for Sustained Success. Master’s Thesis, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA, 2020. Available online: https://repository.upenn.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/64c0e1dc-e73c-438d-882b-0e472b40631d/content (accessed on 10 October 2026).
  10. Davis K, Moore WE. Some Principles of Stratification. American Sociological Review 1945; 10(2): 242–249.
  11. Weber M. Economy and Society; Roth G, Wittich C, Eds.; University of California Press: Berkeley, CA, USA, 1978.
  12. Breen R, Müller W. Education and Intergenerational Social Mobility in Europe and the United States; Stanford University Press: Stanford, CA, USA, 2020.
  13. Bourdieu P. The Forms of Capital. In Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education; Richardson JG, Ed.; Greenwood Press: New York, NY, USA, 1986; pp. 241–258.
  14. Marx K. Selected Writings; McLellan D, Ed.; Oxford University Press: New York, NY, USA, 1977.
  15. Tumin MM. Some Principles of Stratification: A Critical Analysis. American Sociological Review 1953; 18(4): 387–393.
  16. Ghirardi G, Bernardi F. Compensating or Boosting Genetic Propensities? Gene-Family Socioeconomic Status Interactions by Educational Outcome Selectivity. Social Science Research 2025; 129: 103174.
  17. Bourdieu P. Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste; Harvard University Press: Cambridge, MA, USA, 1984.
  18. Friedman S, Laurison D. The Class Ceiling: Why It Pays to Be Privileged; Policy Press: Bristol, UK, 2020.
  19. Merton R K. The Matthew Effect in Science. Science 1968; 159(3810): 56–63.
  20. Bothner MS, Podolny JM, Smith EB. Status-Based Evaluation and the Matthew Effect. Social Forces 2011; 89(4): 1185–1210.
  21. Bask M. Reputation Dynamics and the Matthew Effect in Academic and Athletic Careers. Scientometrics 2024; 129: 3891–3914.
  22. Penn R. Rethinking Class Analysis: Some Reflections on Current Issues and Possible New Forms of Empirical Research. Contemporary Social Sciences, 2016; 11(2-3): 113–124.
  23. Biegert T, Kühhirt M, Van Lancker W. They Can’t All Be Stars: The Matthew Effect, Cumulative Status Bias, and Status Persistence in NBA All-Star Elections. American Sociological Review 2023; 88(2): 189–219.
  24. Weick KE. Small Wins: Redefining the Scale of Social Problems. American Psychologist 1984; 39(1): 40–49.
  25. Strauss A, Corbin JM. Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory, 2nd ed.; Sage Publications: New York, NY, USA, 1998.

Supporting Agencies

  1. Funding: This research received no external funding.