Sports analytics has been growing rapidly over time. Baseball teams like the Houston Astros have directors of decision science now, to help manage all of the available information as to make the best decisions possible in player evaluations, medicine, and mechanics of the sport.
The Cleveland Browns also hired Paul DePodesta, who has worked extensively in Major League Baseball, most recently with the New York Mets. He will serve as the chief strategy officer, in a move that was questioned by many considering he has no football experience, along with taking a baseball approach to their decisions.
Now, aspiring sports analytics junkies will be able to get a degree in analytics. Syracuse University announced on Wednesday that it would become the first U.S. university to offer a bachelor of science degree in sports analytics.
Syracuse released the following statement:
With growing numbers of sport organizations embracing data analytics’ powerful role in understanding and prioritizing information to maintain a competitive advantage, there is increasing demand for sport analytics professionals to guide data-driven decision making. Syracuse University’s Falk College today announced a new Bachelor of Science (BS) in Sport Analytics-the first of its kind in the country-to provide students with a deep understanding of math, statistics, research methodology, sport economics, database management, finance, and computer programming integral to sport analytics.
The degree also requires students to take a foreign language to prepare for the global sports landscape, and notes that students that are bilingual are highly sought after.
Other universities have given students other offerings in relation to sports analytics. According to TIME, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) offers a five-year combined bachelor’s in sports management, with a masters in sports analytics. Syracuse’s will still be the only program to allow undergrads to earn a sports analytics degree.
Surely with Syracuse’s announcement, other schools could be quick to come up with their own sports analytics programs. Similar to most other degrees, many people will earn them, and a handful will find success in their respective fields.
So if you’re a prospective college student, and you’re into sports analytics, you’re coming up at just the right time.
[TIME]
