Learning the Game Beyond the Scoreboard

The school recently partnered with Pro Football Focus for remote internship opportunities that allow students to combine their love of sports and statistics while building real-world skills that can help them kick-off careers.

Pro Football Focus collects and analyzes vast amounts of data in football.

"I met with a staff member of PFF and realized this would be an excellent fit for some of our students who are interested in working in football, coaching or analytics," said Brennan Berg, professor and sport management program director.

"This program offers a unique chance to develop valuable analytical skills, enhance football knowledge and gain real-world experience in data collection and game analysis all while balancing academic commitments," he said.

Senior sport management major Jason Miller was one Ole Miss student fortunate enough to land the remote internship.

"I wanted to gain more working experience in the sports world," the Spring Grove, Illinois, native said. "I had little experience going into this opportunity, and I thought it would only help my resume, further my skill set and be a good opportunity to network.

"I had never done any sports analytics or statistics jobs before, so I wanted to branch out and learn more about that type of field."

Miller hopes to one day become an athletics director or work within event management/business operations for a professional sports organization.

The internship consisted of watching live college and professional football games, gathering data on every play and submitting data into an online program quickly and accurately.

The statistics collected were similar to what people see when looking up gamebooks during a live game – such as yards on a catch, who caught the ball and who threw the ball – with the addition of tracking other information such as throw spots, catch spots, types of drop-back and trick plays, Miller said.

The data is sent to teams to use however they wish, including for scouting purposes or self-evaluation.

"I learned a lot about working online, online communication, how sports data gets interpreted and how the company works with professional and college programs," he said.

"I never had a job that was this technological, so it was interesting to learn how a job can get done with databases and online communication."

Not only did Miller gain skills, he personified one of the sport management program's plans to get students over the goal line of graduation and into the workforce.

"Our program constantly stresses the importance of professional development and getting experience in the field due to how competitive jobs are in the sport industry," Berg said.

"When students earn opportunities like this, they obtain experiences that complement their course work within the program and acquire additional skills and knowledge while seeing the relevancy of what they are learning from our faculty."

Miller appreciates the significance of the experience as he looks forward to his future.

"To be able to learn new abilities is important when showing my future employers my range of capabilities," he said. "When working in sports, it is all about connections, along with having an expanded skill set.

"Therefore, I hope that this can be a strong resume builder as I continue to search and start my career somewhere."

Top: Ole Miss sport management students interning with Pro Football Focus have gained experience gathering and submitting real-time statistics and data during football games. The internships offer real-world experience and a better understanding of how the industry operates. Adobe Stock photo