Jason Gardner ’21, who is double-majoring in Sport Management and Statistics, scored a data science internship with Big League Advance, a sport analytics company.
While searching for a summer internship, Gardner learned about an opportunity with BLA through some upperclassmen and immediately fell in love with the potential role: combining statistics and simulations to render a deeper understanding of football game outcomes. He is continuing his role with Big League Advance this semester.
“What's so cool about combining sports and data science is the ability to improve a model based on my football knowledge,” Gardner said. “Now I am able to have that same model teach me something new about the game upon examining the results.”
A Denver, CO, native, Gardner matriculated to Rice in 2017 and has been a leader of the Department of Statistics and Analytics student organization, the men’s club basketball team, while also practicing against Rice’s women’s varsity basketball team. A member of Weiss Residential College, Gardner has worked data analytics internships for Mirada (in Madrid, Spain), the 2018 NCAA Final Four, and the Mexican Institute of Greater Houston.
Gardner, who is also fluent in Spanish, hopes to continue working in Sport Analytics with a goal of being able to make new discoveries within the data science world, especially as it applies to sport. Gardner says he is now looking to see what routes are right for him, upon graduation in the Spring, within the realm of data science.
Gardner described the great job Rice, and more specifically the Department of Sport Management, has done with regards to equipping him with the skills and tools necessary to succeed in the professional world.
“The Department of Sport Management has fostered my professional skills to be able to effectively communicate with my coworkers and navigate such a valuable learning experience to its fullest potential,” Gardner said.
Devin Amodio, a junior from Katy, Texas, is double-majoring in Sport Management, Spanish and Portuguese, with a minor in Anthropology.