MIT: The Source of Innovation in…Sports

Guest blogger: Larry Lataif, Conference co-lead, Sloan ‘12

From the transistor radio to the Human Genome Project, MIT can lay claim to a number of innovations. But until recently, the Institute has rarely been associated with advancement in professional sports.

The MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference not only solidified the relationship between MIT and athletics, it changed the way research and statistics are applied in professional and college sports. Organized by students from the Sloan School of Management, the conference is open to anyone interested in sports, with a special reduced rate for MIT alumni.

Now in its sixth year, the conference will be held March 2-3 at Boston’s Hynes Convention Center. The event is co-chaired by Daryl Morey ’00, general manager of the NBA’s Houston Rockets, and Jessica Gelman, vice president for Kraft Sports Group. This year’s conference will also include Jeff Ma ’94. A co-founder and vice president for Synergy Sports and a consultant for the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers and the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers, Ma is also a former member of the famed MIT Blackjack Team.

The 2012 event features a varied group of the sports world’s leading decision makers, including Mark Cuban, owner of the NBA’s defending champion Dallas Mavericks; Gary Bettman, commissioner of the National Hockey League; Scott Boras, Major League Baseball super-agent; Bill James, founder of the sports analytics movement; and Michael Wilbon and Bill Simmons, two of ESPN’s most prominent personalities.

2012 sessions include “The Art & Analytics of Negotiation,” “Fanalytics,” and “The Commish: The Role of the Modern Commissioner in Sports,” and topics on all major sports.

Past MIT-related highlights have included a golf-putting statistic co-created by MIT Professor Stephen Graves that measures a player's putting performance and has since been adopted by the PGA Tour, and a baseball analytics section hosted by Chicago Cubs Scouting Director Joe Bohringer ’93.

Find out more about this year’s conference, view videos from past conferences, or secure the reduced rate for MIT alumni.