This paper describes a course in introductory statistics and data analysis techniques taught thru the lens of fantasy football. The game’s appeal and its natural applicability to empirical analysis sparked strong interest in topics that would otherwise be abstract and are traditionally unattractive; and evidence suggests that the course was a success. Furthermore, there was no correlation between fantasy experience and course achievement, indicating that fantasy football is an accessible avenue toward statistical concept learning. However, issues of the authenticity of learning activities to fantasy football gameplay seemed to arise, and may have dampened initial enthusiasm among students who were already experienced fantasy football managers. Nevertheless, in total, fantasy football is concluded to be an engaging, active, and immersive classroom application of statistical analysis, and a powerful tool toward statistics education reform.
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