The United Football League and the Sport Analytics program at Syracuse University have entered an agreement that will allow Syracuse sport analytics students to complete statistical analysis and provide insights and visualizations to the UFL. The agreement marks the first time an American college or university has worked with the spring football league.
As part of the agreement, the UFL will provide Syracuse students with experience in professional football and access to its employees, while Syracuse will provide the data analysis skills of students from the leading sport analytics program in the country.
“The United Football League is proud to team up with the two-time national champion Sport Analytics program at Syracuse University,” said UFL President and CEO Russ Brandon, a member of Syracuse University’s Department of Sport Management Advisory Council. “Innovation is at the heart of the UFL, so it is only fitting that we seek out the creativity and the expertise of these students as we look toward a new approach to sports analytics.”
The UFL is the premier spring football league formed from the merger of the XFL and USFL in 2024. Under the combined ownership of RedBird Capital Partners, FOX, Dany Garcia, and Dwayne Johnson, the UFL features eight teams in key markets: Arlington, Texas; Birmingham, Ala.; Detroit, Mich.; Houston, Texas; Memphis, Tenn.; San Antonio, Texas; St. Louis, Mo., and Washington, D.C.
The 2025 UFL season will kick off at 8 p.m. ET Friday, when FOX Sports debuts “FOX UFL Friday”—a new night dedicated to UFL action taking place each Friday during the 10-week regular season—with a matchup featuring the St. Louis Battlehawks against the Houston Renegades. The league’s second season will conclude on Saturday, June 14, when ABC presents the 2025 UFL Championship Game.
“The UFL envisions itself as a gathering place for innovative thinkers,” said UFL Vice President of Football Technology Brad Campbell. “Thanks to the contributions of the sport analytics team at Syracuse we will be able to raise this vision to a whole new level.”
Under the leadership of Sport Analytics Undergraduate Director and Professor Rodney Paul, Syracuse’s sport analytics students captured back-to-back National Sport Analytics Championships in 2023-24, and they have won numerous player and team analytics competitions in football, basketball, and baseball. About 70 students are providing data collection and analysis for 13 of Syracuse University’s athletic teams, and the program’s other professional partners include the Kumamoto Volters’ men’s basketball team in Japan, the Farjestad BK women’s hockey team in Sweden, the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets, Major League Soccer’s CF Montreal, and others.
Under the agreement with the UFL, the Sport Analytics program is coordinating student participation, and seven students have joined the first phase, with more to be added later. The UFL is assigning projects related to league operations and initiatives, and the parties are holding regular meetings to discuss projects, share findings through visualizations (charts, graphs, dashboards), and strategize on next steps.
“We are honored to partner with the UFL and look forward to providing insights and actionable items for the teams and league,” Paul said. “The experience and feedback our students will gain from this partnership is something that’s impossible to replicate in the classroom. Opportunities like this have been our dream since the start of the program, and we are so appreciative of all the wonderful people in the UFL and how their experience and expertise will benefit our students in so many ways.”
