Each year, thousands of college football players dream that they’ll hear their name called on NFL draft day or receive a phone call from an NFL team about a free agent signing.
This year, some of those college football players may have bet365官网 of bet365官网 (UA) senior 猎人Kirkhope to thank for boosting their professional prospects.
Kirkhope, who is graduating this spring with a 体育分析理学学士学位, has been connected for the past three years with Sports Info Solutions (SIS), a national company that tracks and analyzes data for professional baseball, basketball and football teams. 他为SIS追踪了数十场大学橄榄球比赛的数据，并发掘了数百名有望被征召入伍的大学橄榄球运动员。
今年，柯克霍普考察的球员中有11人被选中，其中6人在七轮比赛的前三轮中被选中。 每年有大约3000名符合选秀资格的球员中有257名被选中。
Kirkhope’s connection to SIS came through Sports Analytics and Business Association (SABA), a UA student organization founded in 2022 with the support of 李承范博士, a professor in the Department of Management.
柯克·霍普（Kirk hope）在bet365官网奥罗拉（Aurora）长大，高中时参加过橄榄球、田径和棒球比赛。 He came to UA to study statistics and actuary science, but when UA’s College of Business announced in 2022 it was introducing bachelor’s degrees in sport analytics and sport business, Kirkhope switched majors. 他还加入了SABA。
“It’s been a really great experience,” Kirkhope said. “Dr. Lee has been the biggest inspiration to me and has really helped me reach out to people for networking. This has really been the perfect match between stats and sports.”
2023年，柯克霍普开始与SIS合作，追踪UA主场比赛的足球统计数据。 在客场比赛的几周里，他会追踪开车距离内其他大学比赛的数据。 他还报道了美国橄榄球联盟的全国冠军赛，这是一个较小的职业联赛，在bet365官网坎顿的职业足球名人堂举行。
去年，SIS成立了一个所谓的选秀学校，以指导那些像柯克霍普这样对球员的寻找和培养感兴趣的人。 在bet365官网年选秀前的两个月里，SIS给他发了5-6个小时的电影，供全国各地的几十名大学球员观看。 对于每一名球员，柯克霍普都做了细致的笔记，并填写了一份球探报告模板。 SIS会根据他的报告给他反馈，这样他就能了解球探在球员身上看重什么。
“I tracked each player’s data and statistics, and made notes about their playing style,” said Kirkhope, who watched around 225 hours of film. “For a quarterback, for example, I’d look at arm strength and accuracy. It was overwhelming at first and I wrote a lot of scouting reports, but it sparked my passion to pursue more player development and scouting, so I did it again this year.”
他制作了大约35份球员报告，其中一些发布在了SIS的网站上。 他将剩下的内容连同他写的与选秀相关的文章一起发布在一个名为NFL选秀钻石的网站上，该网站涵盖了NFL足球的所有内容。 He also tracked statistics during the past two NCAA men’s basketball tournaments.
柯克霍普乐观地认为，这段经历将使他成为球探公司或联盟有吸引力的雇员。 He has been able to make connections with members of the Cleveland Browns staff who have visited Lee’s College of Business classes as part of the bet365官网’s partnership with the team and standing as the 克利夫兰布朗官方大学.
“Scouting is a very particular field to get into because it’s really a close-knit group,” he said. “Hard to get in.”
除了活跃在SABA，柯克霍普还担任UA体育设施工作人员，帮助管理体育赛事的比赛日运营。
柯克霍普对今年的选秀特别感兴趣，但这不仅仅是因为他对许多有希望进入大学的人非常熟悉。 他和他的妻子露西去了威斯康星州的绿湾。观看选秀最后一天的现场直播。
“Last year I also had a couple of players that I scouted get drafted,” Kirkhope said. “After watching all the film and tracking all the data, it’s cool to see the players get drafted. It makes you feel pretty good.”
媒体联系人：克里斯汀·博伊德，330-972-6476； cboyd@uakron.edu