SSAC

Player Empowerment: I've Got the Power

Kendrick Perkins – NBA Analyst & Former NBA Player, ESPN

 

Stephen A. Smith – Featured Commentator, ESPN

 

Michael Rubin – Founder & Executive Chairman, Fanatics

 

Jackie MacMullan (Moderator) – Senior Writer, ESPN

 

In recent years we’ve seen an undeniable increase in player influence with regards to what they make, where they play, and how they leverage their brand beyond the team. Players entering leagues often have millions of social followers and are using their voice to bring awareness to issues impacting their day-to-day life as professional athletes and society at large. With the increased influence of players, how are agents, team owners, and businesses tied to athletes ensuring an ongoing focus on the health of the sport? How are leagues balancing the focus on the team while protecting the individual? Hear how players’ voices are changing the game, impacting league economics, and affecting how organizations embrace the new norm. Panelists represent a wide range of perspectives, including athletes, owners, business partners, and media.

Moneyball to Homerball with Bill James & Tom Tango

Tom Tango – Senior Data Architect, MLB

 

Bill James – Statistician

 

Meghan Chayka (Moderator) – Co-Founder, Stathletes

 

Arguably the two greatest baseball analytics minds of all time will meet on stage for the first time to discuss the Sabermetrics that Bill James created and Tom has revolutionized. Bill James needs no introduction (he has a room at the conference named after him!). Tom Tango is the creator of numerous sabermetrics including Leverage Index and FIP and currently runs the highly influential tangotiger.com website.

Moving the Chains: Advancing Football Analytics

Brian Burke - Senior Analytics Specialist, ESPN

 

Alec Halaby - Vice President of Football Operations and Strategy, Philadelphia Eagles

 

Mike Leach - Head Football Coach, Mississippi State University

 

Mina Kimes (Moderator) - Senior Writer, Podcast Host and Commentator, ESPN

 

Information from player tracking to advanced metrics is shaping how rosters are constructed, players prepare, and coaches call games. Viewers can expect to see Next Gen Stats on every broadcast. Teams continue to pass more, RPOs are rampant, and defenses are loaded with hybrid positions. So if the analytics revolution finally arrived, how did the Tennessee Titans almost make the Super Bowl with an offense circa 1980? The true transformation may take longer than we think. An offensive mastermind, an analytics expert, and a front-office innovator share their insights on how teams are reacting to the newly available data and what it means for the future of the game.

Hockey Analytics: A Faceoff with Data

Dominic Moore - Former NHL Player

 

Sunny Mehta - Former NHL Executive

 

Andrew Thomas - Director of Data Science, SportsMEDIA Technology Corp.

 

Alison Lukan - Writer, The Athletic

 

Michael Mauboussin (Moderator) - Head of Consilient Research, Counterpoint Global

 

The use of analytics to support important decision-making in the NHL has increased significantly over the past few years, but the real revolution is still to come. With the addition of player tracking technology in the near future, teams will have access to far more information than ever before. This panel aims to tackle the key questions NHL teams will need to address to be successful in this rapidly changing environment. How must teams adapt their front office organizations to handle this influx of data effectively? Which widely accepted conventional hockey wisdoms could end up being disproved in the future? Will the introduction of player-tracking information lead to the same degree of stylistic changes in hockey, as seen recently in the NBA and MLB?

Defending the Pass: Using Player Tracking Data to Gain New Insights

Kevin Meers - Former Director of Research & Strategy, Cleveland Browns

 

Evan Kaplan - Research Specialist, ESPN

 

Brian Burke - Senior Analytics Specialist, ESPN

 

Domonique Foxworth - Writer & NFL Analyst, ESPN

 

Brian Macdonald (Moderator) - Director of Sports Analytics, ESPN

 

“You have to pass to set up the run.” A far cry from a generation ago, the NFL has experienced a notable trend towards passing over the past 40 years. The league is also collecting and using more detailed, granular data, such as player and ball location data, which has opened the door to countless new statistics, advanced metrics, and detailed analyses that can be leveraged to inform decisions at both the league and team level. This panel will focus on the intersection of these two trends, particularly how tracking data can be used to answer new questions about player performance and coaching strategies, and how they impact a team’s success at defending the pass.

Press Any Key to Start: How to Build an Esports Brand

Casey Chafkin - Chief Revenue Officer and Co-Founder, Skillz Inc.

 

David Higdon - Global Head of Communications, Esports for Riot Games

 

Nicole LaPointe Jameson - CEO, Evil Geniuses

 

Saj Cherian (Moderator) - Partner, Kynetic

 

In 2019, The Overwatch League was the only major sports league to show a rise in television viewers from the 18 to 34-year-old demographic. However, despite Esports’ exponential year-over-year growth, it has struggled with cultivating strong and lasting brands. In order to do so, Esports businesses must build solid and sustainable brands to endure rapid shifts in game popularity and determine how to leverage their platforms, both online and offline. As the industry is still evolving, there is no one right answer on how to go about creating, maintaining and growing a brand in the Esports industry. In this panel, industry thought leaders from a variety of Esports businesses will discuss how they have chosen their unique path for their brand, how they generate success, and how they attract and maintain fans and customers.

Tackling the Name, Image, and Likeness Issue in College Sports

Gerry Cardinale - Founder and Managing Partner, RedBird Capital Partners

 

Saquon Barkley - Running Back, New York Giants

 

Stan Wilcox - Executive VP Regulatory Affairs, NCAA

 

Martin Jarmond - Athletic Director, Boston College

 

Warren Zola (Moderator) - Executive Director, Boston College Chief Executives Club

 

California’s passing of the Fair Pay to Play Act in late 2019 reignited the longstanding, nationwide debate over collegiate athlete compensation. Given the complexity of the issue, the vast number of stakeholders, material financial implications and multitude of potential resolutions, it is no surprise that this debate has captured the attention of the sports world and beyond. California’s groundbreaking legislation has also placed the spotlight firmly on the NCAA which is actively revisiting its related rules and policies. Hear from a varied group of stakeholders in the college space as they discuss and debate some of the most pressing issues surrounding this topic, including the potential ramifications for players, schools and athletic programs, the attractiveness of name, image and likeness opportunities, as well as ethical and regulatory challenges.

Sports in 2040: Hindsight is 2020

Daryl Morey - General Manager, Houston Rockets

 

Jessica Gelman - CEO, Kraft Analytics Group

 

Bill James - Former Sr. Baseball Operations Advisor, Boston Red Sox

 

Nate Silver - Editor-in-Chef, FiveThirtyEight

 

Katie Nolan (Moderator) - Host, ESPN

 

In 2040, the NBA has a 5-point line, NFL stadiums seat 40,000 as fans watch via VR, Amazon will own MLS, and MLB games finish in less than an hour. This panel will make bold predictions on what’s to come. Sports have radically changed over the last 20 years, from how teams manage their players to how sports media delivers content to how fans watch games. As we look toward the future, the only thing that is certain is that change will continue at a rapid pace. With that in mind, our brave panelists will predict the future landscape of sports and attempt to defend their wild speculations.

Sponsorship in the 2020s: Leveraging Technology to Uncover Gems

Robert Hofmann - Vice President, Account Director & Club Sponsorship Lead, Club Business Development, NFL

 

Lauren Riker - Global Marketing Analytics Manager, New Balance

 

Scott Tilton - CEO & Co-Founder, Hookit

 

Tiffany Frits (Moderator) - Business Operations Manager, ESPN Stats and Information Group

 

From headphones to tennis shoes, sponsorship influences buying decisions because of one simple reason: fans want to be like their sports idols. Though sponsorships improve sales, they have historically been difficult, if not impossible, to quantify. But with increasing ways to measure fan engagement, can we use data to truly understand and predict the value of sponsorship? This panel will examine how brands are utilizing machine learning, targeted advertising, and incentive-based sponsorships to predict successful athlete and league partnerships. Brands, leagues and sponsor tech will weigh in on how to succeed in this emerging and exciting space heading into the new decade.

MLS Growth Story: A Conversation with Don Garber and Jonathan Kraft

Don Garber - Commissioner, MLS

 

Jonathan Kraft - President, The Kraft Group 

 

Taylor Twellman (Moderator) - Soccer Analyst, ESPN 

 

Today, Major League Soccer (MLS) is one of the most successful growth stories in American sports history. The average MLS team is valued at $313mm (30% growth from last year) and team valuation growth outpaces every major US league team valuation growth by at least 2x. During its evolution, MLS has used creative concepts to bring in talent (the Designated Player Rule adopted in 2007) and witnessed impressive surges in attendance across the league (Atlanta United averaged 70,000+/game last year). Having launched with 10 teams in 1996, the league plans to expand to 30 teams by 2022. Learn how Commissioner Don Garber has shepherded the growth of MLS and soccer in the United States and how the guidance and partnership with one of the founding MLS investors, Kraft Group President Jonathan Kraft, has helped shape the opportunities, overcome adversity, and align the US to host the World Cup in 2026.