Charlotte’s Sports Analytics Degree, The Only One In The Southeast, Offers A Distinct Advantage
March Madness — the pinnacle of college basketball. As teams vie for the national championship throughout the month, fans frenziedly fill out their NCAA brackets — some for fun, others for perfectly predicted picks. Underscoring it all — statistics. Or more precisely, sports analytics.
“Player and team matchups and strength of schedule are a few examples of stats that impact March Madness, but the biggest metric is ‘win probability,’” said John Tobias, director of UNC Charlotte’s Sports Analytics program, part of the School of Data Science.
Senior Jackson Mullins is lead analyst for the NinerStats team, a group of interns assisting the Charlotte 49ers men’s basketball team.
“Our data can predict what teams are trying to do — how quickly they play, number of passes during half-court possessions, or how efficient the team is with ball reversals,” Mullins said. “I have played or watched basketball religiously for most of my life, so the opportunity to work with a coaching staff and other students to provide real-game data to a major collegiate sports team has been not only eye-opening but great practice for after I graduate.”
While the 49ers are not contenders in this year’s elite “Big Dance,” Mullins explains the role of analytics for those involved.
“Data is huge for March Madness; it enables teams to plan quickly for opponents they have not seen all year,” Mullins said. “Teams’ data analysts will track the entire box score and stat specific requests from their coaching staff, such as when the ball enters the paint and is kicked back out, and both teams’ possession times, including the results of possession and offensive rebounds obtained.”
Last fall, the University launched a Bachelor of Science in Sports Analytics, the only such degree in the Southeastern United States and one of five in the nation. This innovative STEM offering will build upon the Undergraduate Certificate in Sports Analytics with coursework in data science, machine learning and the anatomy and physiology of human performance.
Charlotte is one of 19 U.S. cities with an NFL, NBA and MLS team. With the additional presence of the University’s Division 1 athletics program, the SEC Network and NASCAR, the city offers a rich training ground for students seeking careers in the sports analytics field.
“Teams, networks, companies and organizations look for experience when evaluating hires,” Tobias explained. “With Charlotte’s intern partnership with 49ers athletics and other professional teams and organizations, students in our program will have a distinct advantage.”