CAMBRIDGE, MA (August 28, 2023) – With the demand for data, analytical tools, and a competitive edge on the rise in professional and collegiate sports, the 2023 New England Symposium on Statistics in Sports will feature new findings, applications, and insight into player performance and team success. The event takes place Saturday, September 23 at the Harvard University Science Center, Cambridge, MA.
“Players, coaches, and management know that better data can result in more precise insights, which then help them understand the ingredients that lead to greater probability of success,” said Mark Glickman, Sports Analytics Laboratory director and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Statistics at Harvard University. “Sports analytics has become an advanced science. This year’s event will add to the body of knowledge, providing statisticians, data analysts, sports teams, and sports media with new analytic approaches and perspective from experts who have thought deeply about the problems they will be addressing.”
Research being presented spans football, baseball, basketball, soccer, hockey, volleyball, and track and field. Some of the presentation topics include:
- Analyzing Defensive Pass Rush in American Football with Player Tracking Data
- Augmenting Sports Videos with Visualizations
- Investigating Referee Consistency in the Big 5 Men’s European Football Leagues
- Estimating Individual Contributions to Team Success in Women’s College Volleyball
- Evaluating Plate Discipline in Major League Baseball
- Estimating Knee Movement Patterns of Recreational Runners across Training Sessions
- Improving Medal Projections in Olympic Best Mark Sports
Statistical analysis experts from across the globe will present research or participate in panel discussions. Some speakers include:
- Scott Powers, Rice University
- Suraj Bhuva, US Olympic & Paralympic Committee
- Jim Albert, Bowling Green State University
- Ron Yurko, Carnegie Mellon University
- Zhutian Chen, Harvard University
- Robert Bajons, Vienna University of Economics and Business
- Pete Philipson, Newcastle University
- Marcos Matabuena, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela
The conference will finish with a panel discussion on successful outreach in sports analytics. According to Mark Glickman, “There is a growing need for better outreach and inclusivity within the field, particularly towards women and under-represented minorities. By conducting targeted outreach, the field of sports analytics can become more representative and innovative, creating opportunities for those who may benefit from increased access to education and career pathways.” The panel will consist of
- Michael Schuckers - St. Lawrence University, co-PI of the NSF-funded SCORE network
- Mike Lopez - National Football League, Big Data Bowl competition and Big Data Bowl mentorship program
- Tegan Bunsu Ashby - Philadelphia Phillies, Women in Sports Data
- Lawrence Clark - University of Maryland, PI on NSF-funded Maryland Sports Data Analytics Camps for Youth
Talk and poster abstracts are accessible online. Limited media access is available at the 2023 New England Symposium on Statistics in Sports. Please contact Mark Glickman at glickman@fas.harvard.edu or Scott Evans at sevans@bsc.gwu.edu if interested.
The 2023 New England Symposium on Statistics in Sports is sponsored by Big League Advantage, StatsBomb, and the Harvard Statistics Department.
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About the New England Symposium on Statistics in Sports
The 2023 New England Symposium on Statistics in Sports is a meeting of statisticians and quantitative analysts connected with sports teams, sports media, and universities to discuss common problems of interest in statistical modeling and analysis of sports data. The symposium format is a mixture of invited talks, a poster session, and a panel discussion. For additional information, please visit the symposium website at nessis.org.
For more information:
Mark Glickman Scott Evans
617-496-1505 301-816-8086
glickman@fas.harvard.edu sevans@bsc.gwu.edu