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Central Hosts Midwest Sports Analytics Meeting

Featured: Central Hosts Midwest Sports Analytics Meeting

November 13, 2019

A data analyst and coordinator with the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings will be one of three keynote speakers Central College will bring campus for the fourth annual Midwest Sports Analytics Meeting set for Saturday, Nov. 23, in the Maytag Student Center.

Madison Koch, sales analytics and engagement data coordinator for the Vikings, will be the final keynote speaker of the day-long event. A native of Stanwood, Iowa, and a graduate of the University of Minnesota, Koch’s presentation is titled “More Than Just Butts in Seats.”

Also presenting is Nick Elam, assistant professor of educational leadership at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. Elam previously served as a high school athletic director and baseball coach. He is the originator of the hybrid duration format for basketball, which in 2017 The Basketball Tournament named the Elam Ending. His presentation is titled “Elam Ending: Past, Present and Future.”

David Longstreet will present “Performance is Not a Strategy: Winning Off the Field.” Longstreet is chief data scientist for FanThreeSixty, where he is responsible for leading and building its core fan analytics capabilities that includes enriched fan profiles and smarter audience segments.

Russ Goodman, professor of mathematics at Central, created MSAM in 2016 as a one-day conference promoting faculty, graduate and undergraduate research in sports analytics.

Additional breakout sessions are offered in the morning and afternoon. The event also offers poster presentations and opportunities to network. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. Cost is $100 for the general public, $50 for high school, college or university personnel or $25 for high school or college students. Central students and employees can attend free.

For more information or to register, visit central.edu/msam.

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