The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is going to overhaul its own data statistics service in a new venture with London-based Genius Sports who will also be come the NCAA’s private data licensing representative.
Described as a milestone initiative, the venture will change the digital collection and distribution of intercollegiate sports data that the NCAA says will benefit its 1,100 and member institutions across all three divisions and will be utilized in select NCAA championships, beginning with men’s and women’s baseball tournaments in 2019.
The technology will then be rolled out to schools to additional NCAA sports, such as volleyball, football, soccer, softball and baseball, the Association stated.
The software platform will be offered to members at no cost for an introductory period as the NCAA considers the adoption of this platform will be of benefit in terms of enhanced efficiencies which comprise “improved data capture and distribution services, richer training insights, and also the ability to captivate enthusiast and media experience by providing engaging statistics to numerous platforms in real-time”.
In addition to this technical arrangement, Professional Sports will serve as the NCAA’s private agent in licensing real-time data out of championship events, including NCAA March Madness, to press platforms and other companies.
“This initiative will change the way we gather, use, and distribute the vast amount of sports data being absorbed across all sports at every level. It enables our schools to upgrade to state-of-the-art technology. ”
“This technology will deliver a world class experience for NCAA fans, coaches, players, athletic administrators and supervisors alike,” additional Mark Locke, CEO of Professional Sports. “& We’re delighted to be playing a critical role in the NCAA’s digital transformation, implementing one of the most advanced technology systems in athletics. ”