Building the Academic Playbook for Sports Analytics Education

Twenty years ago, when MIT hosted the first Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, only a handful of universities dared to treat sports analytics as a serious field of study rather than a niche hobby. There were no dedicated field journals, few courses nationwide, and almost no faculty willing to risk their careers studying it. Today the academic landscape could not look more different. Dozens of universities now offer majors or minors in sports analytics, field journals are thriving, and tenure-track professors, many with team or league experience, are leading cutting-edge research and training the next generation of practitioners. This panel explores how sports analytics became an academic discipline in record time and where it's headed next. We'll dig into the evolution of curricula, the growing ties between universities and professional teams, and the challenges of keeping education aligned with a rapidly changing industry. Panelists will share how academic programs are shaping (and being shaped by) the sports analytics ecosystem, from research priorities to career pipelines. Whether you're an educator, student, or industry leader, this discussion will dig into how universities are powering the next era of innovation, talent, and collaboration in sports data science.