Abstract: 

The game of football is undergoing a significant shift towards the quantitative. Much of the progress made in the analytics space can be attributed to play-by-play data and charting data. However, recent years have given rise to tracking data, which has opened the door for innovation that was not possible before. In this talk I will describe how to gain an edge in player evaluation by building off of traditional charting data with state-of-the-art player tracking data, and foreshadow how such methods will revolutionize the sport of football in the future.

Session Outline:

Obtaining and Cleaning Data, Forming Hyptheses, Modeling, Communication

Bio: 

Eric Eager is the VP of Research and Development at SumerSports, a football analytics startup founded by Paul Tudor Jones and Jack Jones. Prior to joining Sumer, he held similar roles at Pro Football Focus, and is responsible for many of the insights that have grown the game of American football to this day. Eric holds a PhD in Mathematical Biology from the University of Nebraska, and has taught at Wharton, DataCamp and the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse, publishing over 25 academic papers during his career.