Carolinas Sports Analytics Meetings

Statistics are ingrained in modern organized sports. They help scouts discover talent, they help fans separate the best from the rest, and they unveil the game’s true winners and losers.

Popularized by Moneyball, the book and movie, sports statistics have become an industry unto themselves. The Carolinas Sports Analytics Meeting, first held in April 2013 on the Furman campus, provides a venue for faculty, students, and experts to collaborate in this field of research.

Our first meeting featured keynote speeches by Peter Keating of ESPN the Magazine and Ken Massey of the Bowl Championship Series. Other speakers told educators how to add bracketology to linear algebra classes and how golfers can swing their way to better scores. Here are a few more topics from the inaugural meeting:

• “Sports’ Most Unassailable Record”
• “Diamonds in the Rough: An Enhanced Rating System for MLB Batters and Pitchers”
• “Boxing in Basketball: What Factors Affect the Outcome in a College Basketball Game?”

Students who’ve dreamed of combining their knack for numbers with their love of sports will find plenty of inspiration at our annual Carolinas Sports Analytics Meeting. Local sports fans can get an inside look at some of the stats that are animating the sporting world.

A date for the next iteration of CSAM to be held at Furman is currently unknown.