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Hackathon

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Details

The 12th annual Hackathon at the 2026 Sloan Sports Analytics Conference will bring together innovative and analytical minds to create groundbreaking solutions in the sports industry. The competition is a tremendous way to meet industry experts and peers in the sports industry over the course of the conference. Check out the final presentations from the 2025 Hackathon on our YouTube page!

The Hackathon, will take place on Thursday, March 5th (i.e., the day before the official start of the Conference) starting at 9:00am ET. During the day, participants will be given a brief of the task and data set. The event culminates with participants presenting their work in a short presentation to a panel of distinguished judges.

A set of finalists will then be selected to present their ideas during the Conference on March 6-7 (exact time to be announced).

The event is open to everyone, working professionals and students alike! Interest forms for the 2026 Hackathon are not yet live.

Theme preview

Let's roll up our sleeves to analyze data and build models to unlock the value of fandom! This challenge looks to reveal the true commercial potential of an audience through the analysis of first party data. The aim is to go beyond traditional ‘revenue per fan’ models for merchandise, membership, tickets and hospitality – by uncovering new partnership models.

FAQs

When is the Hackathon?
When is the last day to apply?
Who is eligible to participate in the Hackathon?
Is the competition open to students of all levels?
Is the Hackathon an individual or team event?
Do I need to buy a ticket to fill out the interest form for the Hackathon?
If I am selected for the Hackathon, do I need to buy a ticket to participate?
When will I hear back if I have been selected as a participant in the Hackathon?
What will happen on the day of the competition?
How will the submissions be judged?

Previous Winners

2025
Student Division: Angad Jasuja (Yale University) and Mickey Shamah (New York University)

Open Division: Ben Jenkins (SumerSports) and Harry Engoren
2024
Student Division: Tejas Bala (Northwestern University) and Jackson Crawford (University of Southern California)

Open Division: Ben Jenkins (Paramount+) and Ethan Haas (West Monroe)
2023
Student Division: Xander Schwartz (Amherst College) and Lorenzo Dube (University of Texas at Austin)

Open Division: Lucas Moss (Learfield)
2022
Student Division: Charlie Logan (University of Michigan)

Open Division: Daniel Lee (Bayesian Statistician) and Fabrice Mulumba (Coalfire Systems)
2021
Student Division: Devlin Sullivan (Washington University in St. Louis)

Open Division: Michael Shealy (Cached Consulting LLC) and Mack Meyer (Better)
2020
Student Division: Arnav Prasad (University of Chicago), Nikhil Morar (Indiana University), Saiem Gilani (Georgia Tech), Erik Johnsson (Harvard University)

Open Division: Philip Maymin (Fairfield University)
2019
Gamification Layer: Chaitanya Bapat, Joseph Levy, Su Young Park (Georgia Tech)

User Experience Layer: Josiah Grimes (River Logic)
2018
Student Division: Jason Feldman (Davidson College)

Open Division: Zach Knowlton (Oracle)
2017
Student Division: Melanie Lewis (University of Oklahoma)

Open Division: Devin Pleuler (Toronto FC)
2016
Student Division: Ashutosh Nanda (Columbia University)

Open Division: Colin Davy (Slalom)
2015
Student Division: Shawn Farshchi (University of Michigan)

Open Division: Colin Davy (Slalom)

Application form

Interest forms for the 2026 Hackathon have not yet opened.