Last month, the Mid-American Conference (MAC) agreed to a deal with Genius Sports to supply the company with player data. It marked the first time any NCAA conference signed a partnership of this kind.
The Pac-12 followed shortly after with a similar move, coming to terms with Tempus Ex Machina.
Both of these deals are intended for these companies to gather player data for a variety of uses. One of the main purposes for data collection from athletes is to provide and sell this information to legal sportsbooks.
While the MAC’s deal allows for transactions with sports betting operators, the Pac-12’s does not at this point.
Of course, this trend is likely to continue. It appears it’s just a matter of time before other NCAA conferences like the SEC follow suit. And with legal Kentucky online sports betting on the table for 2022, the discussion will only continue.
Let’s take a closer look at these new partnerships in the college landscape and what may happen to players and additional schools going forward.
Details of the MAC data partnership with Genius
The MAC’s initial contract with Genius is slated for five years. The data and technology company is looking to bring:
“a more sustainable sports data ecosystem that benefits all parties – from the rights-holder all the way through to the fan.”
Genius Sports features more than 400 partners in sports and is involved in leagues like the:
- NFL
- PGA
- EPL
- NASCAR
Its agreement with the MAC includes the statistical data for every sport within the conference. Sports betting companies are likely to purchase this information, which helps them construct their betting odds. Real-time statistics and data are vital to setting the most accurate lines.
The MAC found itself in a very unique situation regarding its data and sports betting. The conference is the only one in FBS where every state associated with it offers, or will soon provide, legalized sports betting.
The five states that MAC programs call home are the following:
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Michigan
- New York
- Ohio
Even though everything aligns for this discussion to revolve around sports betting, the MAC commissioner disagrees. According to ESPN, Jon Steinbrecher said:
“We’re doing this to control our data, which ends up in the public domain anyway. We want to manage that asset. We want that asset to provide value back to our institutions so that we can support our student-athletes, plain and simple.”
Regardless of the reasoning, it’s clear there are various benefits in a data partnership like this.
Although the SEC doesn’t fall under the same umbrella in terms of its states and legal sportsbooks, that shouldn’t matter.
The conference is arguably one of the top few when considering success in sports. It also unquestionably features the most competitive conference in college football, which generates more money than any other sport.
What about player data in the SEC?
Kentucky residents aren’t the only ones in the SEC who are still waiting for sports betting in their state. Of the 11 states that comprise the conference, just five of them have some type of legal sportsbooks in place. These locations include:
- Arkansas
- Florida
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- Tennessee
Still, the SEC doesn’t need its neighboring states to provide sports betting to strike a deal for player data or with a sportsbook operator. It should probably receive more funding for a deal compared to both partnerships formed in March.
There’s no real reason why the majority of NCAA conferences won’t look to land other partners in this space.
College sports are slightly lacking behind here, as leagues like the NFL and NBA have already taken to securing data partnerships. They each signed deals in 2021 that produce around $100 million annually for their rights.
Part of this reason is because of the cloudy rules for data in place at the moment within the NCAA.
It’s been reported that the individual schools own the data from each home game, while the conferences take the tournaments and championship games in football. The NCAA then controls data from March Madness and additional title games.
The only other question about this added revenue is whether or not some of it may eventually land in the hands of the college athletes. Since they started earning money through their name, image, and likeness (NIL) this past year, there’s certainly an opportunity for players to expand their stance with data.
Seeing how the information will involve details about specific players, they may have a right to profit from these partnerships, as well.
It’s difficult to put a timeline or expectation on anything with data or NIL because everything is so new and constantly in motion.
Perhaps sports betting in KY can make some progress so those in the Bluegrass State can see this data applied to their online sportsbooks.
