Kathy Bates was convinced to take the role of Helen "Mama" Boucher by her niece, a longtime fan of Adam Sandler.
This film is the highest-grossing sports comedy of all time, while another Adam Sandler vehicle, The Longest Yard (2005), is the second highest-grossing sports comedy of all time.
Henry Winkler's role as Coach Klein came about after he was mentioned in Adam Sandler's huge hit "The Chanukah Song", where Sandler sang about various Jewish or half-Jewish entertainers. Sandler sang, correctly, that the actor who played Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli on Happy Days (1974) is Jewish, and Winkler was thrilled by the reference and contacted Sandler to tell him so. Sandler then decided to ask Winkler if he would read the script for the coach's role, and then say if he wanted to take the part. Winkler did so and immediately signed on for the film.
The South Central Muddogs' stadium is the DeLand High School football field in DeLand, Florida. The school agreed to let director Frank Coraci use the field if he paid for the stadium to be refurbished after filming.
The box office success of the movie allowed for more budget for Big Daddy (1999), which was filming at the time of this movie's release.