Produced by: Denise Kamyuka
September 20, 2018
One of the thrusts of the Institute of Interdisciplinary Sport Research (IISR) is advancing research and exploring applications of sport analytics while simultaneously equipping our students with first-hand knowledge of the field. This fall’s St. John’s University Sport Analytics (SJUSA) seminar is the IISR’s first initiative in the sport analytics space. Our first seminar, facilitated by Dr. Hedlund, hosted about 20 students in an invigorating demonstration of how analytics-based decision making can give one an advantage in fantasy football. Most of the attendees play fantasy sports, and as a result, this was a very timely seminar. St. John’s University student and seminar attendee Elias Costidis summed up his experience at the seminar with the quote “I was able to understand exactly how data can play a potentially huge role in the drafting process of new and old players of the game. Coincidentally, I was asked to join a fantasy football league, and so I was able to use the information, to which was mentioned during the Sports Analytics Seminar, to my benefit.”
The IISR will host two more seminars this fall, on October 11th and November 8.th The Seminars will feature experts on the topics of math and statistics in sport and legalized sport betting, respectively. Both topics are of broad and current interest, as a number of states are beginning to activate legalized sport betting operations. The potential of legalized sport betting is enough to make even the most casual sport fans take notice and consider the social and financial implication of sport betting on the US economy. Through holding these types of open seminars for students, staff and faculty, IISR hopes to encourage, increase understanding and explore the possibilities that arise from understanding how data can drive success in important areas of the sport industry.