Sports analytics legend Eayrs to speak at Notre Dame

Mike Eayrs, known in professional football as the grandfather of NFL analytics, will speak at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business at 7 p.m. March 7 in Mendoza’s Jordan Auditorium. The event, sponsored by the Notre Dame Sports Analytics Club, is free and open to the public.

Eayrs joined the staff of the Green Bay Packers in 2001, and most recently served as the director of research and development. His work involved managing databases and developing research reports for coaches, player personnel and management based on the analysis of statistical and tactical trends. He previously spent 16 seasons on the football staff of the Minnesota Vikings.

His talk will include his experiences working as a data analyst for a professional sports team, what he learned in this position and his personal career path.

The Notre Dame Sports Analytics Club (NDSAC) promotes awareness of and opportunities in the burgeoning area of sports analytics to Notre Dame students. The club hosts speaker events on campus featuring industry professionals who discuss career opportunities as well as current trends in sport analytics, sport performance and sport science. The NDSAC is jointly sponsored by the Notre Dame Athletic Department and the Department of Information Technology, Analytics, and Operations (ITAO), in the Mendoza College of Business.

Data analytics – including sports analytics – is a growing area of interest for students both at the undergraduate and graduate level, as career projections point to an increasing need for managers and analysts who possess critical data analytics skills. Beyond a long-standing undergraduate program in IT Management, Mendoza’s ITAO department is now offering a Business Analytics (BAN) major for undergraduates beginning with the Class of 2019.

Additionally, the department has its third cohort in the Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) degree program offered in Chicago for working professionals. Mendoza also is launching a dual-degree residential program on the Notre Dame campus in which students can earn an MBA and the MSBA in two years.

For more information, contact Scott Nestler, NDSAC adviser, at (574) 631-8117 or EMAILsnestler@nd.edu, or Teddy Brombach, NDSAC president, at tbrombac@nd.edu.