Just weeks after earning his degree, Jonah Lubin ‘25 landed a job with the NFL's Las Vegas Raiders as a full-time Football Data Science Assistant. Reporting directly to the team’s General Manager, Lubin focuses on player evaluation, analyzing data on both professional and collegiate athletes.
At Rice, Lubin double-majored in Sport Analytics and Sport Management with a concentration in Law. He also minored in both Data Science and Business. He combined these skillsets through valuable internships with the Houston Texans, the Wasserman Agency, Rice Football, and Rice Baseball. Lubin was even a semi-finalist in this year's Big Data Bowl, an annual sports analytics contest held by the NFL. He credits Rice's Department of Sport Management for helping him grow both technically and professionally.
“The Department of Sport Management helped me in many ways, but the aspect that helped the most was the course structure,” Lubin said. “Learning sport analytics from a variety of industry professionals was crucial in being able to do the technical assessments that teams gave me in application processes.”
Lubin's internships, Big Data Bowl accomplishment, and technical skills learned at Rice all culminated in landing his new position. “The Raiders actually reached out to me about this opportunity,” he said.
Looking ahead, Lubin hopes to continue building a long-term career in this field.
“In 5 years, I see myself continuing to work in NFL analytics,” Lubin said. “The work I’ve done has been incredibly rewarding, and the environment that the Raiders have cultivated has been exceptional. While I don’t have a set position in mind, my goal is to keep learning, growing, and becoming the best analyst I can be.”
To those looking to break into the sports industry, Lubin emphasizes the importance of resilience and persistence.
“My advice would be to understand that there’s only so much you can control in this industry,” Lubin said. “I’ve put in a lot of work over the past few years, and even then, there was no guarantee I’d get this opportunity. Stay hopeful, stay persistent, and don’t give up on chasing your goal.”
Sergio Rojas, a senior from Houston, Texas, is double-majoring in Business, with a concentration in Finance, and Sport Management, with a concentration in Leadership.