Falk College to Introduce New Online Certificate of Advanced Study in Sport Analytics

Falk College will introduce an online Certificate of Advanced Study (C.A.S.) in sport analytics to its academic degree offerings in  the Spring 2022 semester. Sport analytics focuses on data science applications to sports teams and businesses. The new 12-credit program explores different types of statistics used for analysis of player and team performance, and business performance across different sports and leagues. Upon graduation, students are proficient in visualizing and analyzing sport data and  prepared to meet increasing demand for analytics professionals in the growing, international world of sports.

“Popularized by the book and film ‘Moneyball,’ sport analytics uses statistics, mathematical modeling, coding and insights into both the on-field and business aspects of sport to communicate important insights to decision-makers such as coaches and general managers,” says Rodney Paul, professor in the Department of Sport Management and director of its sport analytics program. “Our program combines aspects of mathematics, computer coding and business theory, coupled with research and insights into how analytics are used in various aspects of sport, to prepare students for positions in this growing field.”

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects above-average employment growth in several of the top occupations related to sports analytics. As the analytics revolution continues to expand across sports, both domestic and around the world, so do career opportunities for professionals who can code, understand and model complex mathematical relationships, and communicate these findings effectively.

Falk College’s C.A.S. in sport analytics will prepare students for successful sport analytics careers with sports teams and leagues as well as businesses connected to sports, such as media networks, advertisers and sponsors, both nationally and internationally. Coursework includes specific focus areas in sport analytics statistics and methods, including visualization tools; programming in R and Python; linear regression and econometric techniques; and machine learning.

The certificate offers a pathway to sport analytics careers for new college graduates and current professionals in related fields such as sport management, economics, statistics and computer science. The asynchronous online program will allow students anywhere in the world to take advantage of a Syracuse University education and a powerful Syracuse alumni network in the sport industry.

“Sport analytics is a rapidly expanding professional field, with growing career opportunities for well-trained professionals,” says Diane Lyden Murphy, dean of Falk College. “Falk College’s new C.A.S. in sport analytics allows students and professionals in various related fields to build upon their existing education and work experience to build a successful sport analytics career. Equipped with a specialized academic credential from Syracuse University, and an influential network of Syracuse alumni in sport, graduates of the sport analytics C.A.S. program can seize new professional opportunities and advance their careers.”

The C.A.S. in sport analytics is housed within the Department of Sport Management, which launched one of the nation’s first bachelor’s degrees in sport analytics in 2017. Syracuse sport analytics students have received high honors at analytics competitions around the country such as the NBA Hackathon and NFL Big Data Bowl, as well as leading global academic research conferences at the Academy of Economics and Finance and MIT/Sloan, in addition to earning peer-reviewed academic publications of their original research in the Journal of Economics and Finance, Academy of Economics and Finance Journal, Athletic Business Journal and others.

The program is now accepting student admissions applications. For more information about the new C.A.S. in sport analytics, and other degree programs in Falk College, please visit the Falk College website.