Study finds ACC refs show historical bias towards underdogs, home teams, and longtime conference members

http://businessweek.com/articles/2015-01-09/proof-that-college-football-refs-are-riddled-with-bias

Ever watch a game and think to yourself that there seems to be a clear bias in play? According to a new study done by Miami and FSU, there probably is a legitimate reason for your complaining. A study of conference games called from 2005 to 2012 shows that the refs in the ACC showed a statistically significant bias toward home teams, betting line underdogs, and longtime conference members such as UNC and Duke. They also did a study on all other conferences and showed that the ACC and Big 12 were by far the most biased and that the SEC showed the least amount of bias overall. They also extended the study in the ACC to 2013 and 2014 and we're also able to see that FSUs title run also corresponded to a statistically significant return to normal where the bias was no longer seen.

Interesting stuff.