DALLAS — A panel of America's top technology specialists met at the Omni Hotel in Dallas, Texas, on the fourth and final day of SEC Media Days to host a panel on the integration of artificial intelligence in athletics.
The panel included:
- Dr. Asim Ali, Executive Director of the Biggio Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, Auburn University
- Sean Donovan, Chief Innovation Officer/Principal, TRG
- Deon Gordon, Executive Director, TechAlabama / CEO, TechBirmingham
- Matt Landers, Development Lead, Google
- Kevin Lopes, Vice President, Sports Business Development & Innovation, ESPN
- Al Martin, Vice President of Technology Sales, IBM
- Moderator: Dr. David Reed, Associate Provost for Strategic Initiatives, University of Florida
The panel is part of the SEC’s commitment to academic excellence, including recognition of the evolving technological landscape, according to the conference's website. SEC provosts created the SEC Artificial Intelligence Consortium in 2021, a collaboration to focus on AI for workforce development. The consortium encourages SEC universities to share resources and ideas across a broad array of disciplines for AI advancement.
The 90-minute panel explored AI’s impact on sports by covering officiating, generative AI, prospect management and marketing.
Watch the live stream of the panel here:
Major takeaways from AI Panel
- Panelists say AI is meant to "be a tool, not a replacement"
- Dr. David Reed: "AI is for everyone."
- Kevin Lopes: "Don't be afraid of AI, embrace it."
- Sean Donovan: "Experiment with the tech / the change in pace is overwhelming ... what can AI do for me now? What can AI do next? What can AI do in the future?"
- Dr. Asim Ali: "Get off the sidelines ... try out AI"
One example of utilizing AI in collegiate athletics included marketing teams having AI help with advancing lighting in background of ads/merchandise campaigns, help with copywriting for ads and other aspects that would previously take more time and money.
Sports fans could also be curated sports highlights and sports news specific to their interests with help from AI, the panelists said.
Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko was asked if his program utilizes AI. He said no not yet, but that seems to be something that is talked about behind the scenes as something to look at in upcoming years. Elko said his program still uses data reports from their team of analysts.
Editor's note: This article will be updated later with more information from the panel, including a recording of the full panel. The link above missed about the first 10 minutes of the 90-minute panel.
AI in Sports: Meet the panelists
Here are bios on each of the panelists, provided by the SEC:
Dr. Asim Ali
Asim Ali advances the center’s mission of providing professional development programs, services, and resources to enhance instructional innovation and support scholarly and creative activities. Ali oversees a team across the center’s various units and co-leads Auburn’s augmented and virtual reality initiative, AUX, in collaboration with the Office of Information Technology. Ali also co-leads work on artificial intelligence for the Office of the Provost to build faculty capacity for understanding and implementing AI in teaching and learning.
Sean Donovan
You may not know Sean, but there’s a chance you’ve heard his work. Before he embarked on a career in advertising, Sean was in a band called Calla. They had a number-two record in college radio, and their tunes have enriched the soundtracks for things like American Horror Story, The Manchurian Candidate (the one with Denzel and Meryl not Frank), and even MTV Cribs. At TRG, Sean has led the planning, development, execution, and delivery of innovative, complex, high-performance solutions for clients like Keurig Dr Pepper, AT&T, Schwab Trading Services, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center, among others. His work has been recognized by The One Show, Webbys, Effies, ADDYs, and OMMA, among others. As chief innovation officer, Sean leads a cross-disciplinary team that lives at the intersection of technology and culture to drive continual growth in unconventional ways. His job is to create brave spaces where new expressions of creativity are prototyped, perfected, and then scaled. In other words, where the future goes to rehearse.
Deon Gordon
Deon Gordon serves as CEO & President of TechBirmingham, the regional technology council for the seven-county Birmingham metro area, representing hundreds of companies and approximately 30,000 IT professionals. As part of his function, he also serves as the executive director for TechBirmingham’s affiliated 501(c)(3), TechAlabama, which recently launched their signature project where he now serves as advisor of the Education Farm, a coding initiative designed to equip students and teachers across 13 district schools, as well as regional adult learners, with the equipment, curriculum, and resources needed to create viable employment and entrepreneurial pathways for program participants.
Matt Landers
Matt Landers is an accomplished professional with a proven track record in the field of technology and analytics. Currently serving as the senior staff developer relations engineering manager at Google Analytics, Landers brings a wealth of expertise and leadership to his role. With a keen focus on innovation and collaboration, he oversees the strategic development and execution of initiatives aimed at advancing Google’s analytics platform. His commitment to delivering value through continuous learning and development is exemplified by his stewardship of Google’s Analytics Academy courses on Skillshop, which empower individuals to leverage the full potential of Google Analytics 4.
Kevin Lopes
Kevin Lopes is the vice president of sports business development & innovation at ESPN where he leads the ESPN Edge Innovation Center, oversees sports data analytics, and identifies and evaluates potential third-party opportunities in advanced technology initiatives like innovative experiences such as the NHL Big City Greens Classic and digital immersive development.
Al Martin
Al Martin is responsible for IBM Technical Sales Worldwide. This 4,000+ person team includes technical leaders, technical specialists, and architects globally. Martin brings over 20 years of development, sales, services, and support experience leading deeply technical global teams to achieve business results. He partners at all levels of leadership, ensuring clients gain a competitive advantage leveraging IBM’s next generation software and platforms.
Moderator: Dr. David Reed
David L. Reed is a curator at the Florida Museum of Natural History. He joined the Provost’s Office in 2018. He is a graduate of Louisiana State University (M.S. and Ph.D.) and was a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Utah prior to joining UF in 2004. Reed’s research focuses on the genetics of mammals and their parasites. His current research uses complete genomes of bats on Caribbean islands to better understand the effects of climate change on the long-term health of these isolated populations. He also continues his NSF-funded research using parasites of humans to better understand human evolution and human migration across the globe.
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