Earlier this month, the inaugural American Soccer Insights Summit brought together industry leaders, experts, and aspiring professionals for an engaging and insightful event. Hosted at Rice University, the summit provided a platform for discussions on soccer analytics research, featuring keynote speakers, research showcases, and networking opportunities.
“The idea for the Summit came to us when Rice undergraduate student Andrew Kang was accepted to present his soccer analytics research at the 2024 Opta Forum.” Dr. Scott Powers, Assistant Professor of Sport Analytics said. “However, that required Andrew to travel to London which can be difficult for students. We wanted to create an opportunity for North American students to showcase their soccer analytics research without having to travel overseas.”
Powers contributed to launching the event in collaboration with industry professionals. With experience as a professor as well as working for teams such as the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Houston Astros, Powers is aware of the importance in showcasing research to expand professional opportunities.
At the time, Sarah Rudd and Ravi Ramineni of src | ftbl were based in Houston, making them ideal collaborators for the summit’s hybrid industry-academic approach. With Rudd and Ramineni on board, the organizing team also recruited Sam Gregory of U.S. Soccer to help shape the event.
The speaker lineup was one of the standout elements of the ASI Summit, with a mix of industry leaders sharing insights on soccer analytics, team management, and data-driven decision-making.
“As our content leads, Sam, Ravi, and Sarah were instrumental in recruiting an impressive lineup of speakers, including two current general managers from Major League Soccer," Powers said.
The summit also included the Women in Soccer Analytics Networking Reception spearheaded by Rose Graves, a Rice Ph.D. student in the Department of Statistics who previously worked for the Houston Astros. This initiative was designed to encourage mentorship and the development of professional connections.
“The Women in Soccer Analytics Networking Reception was designed to highlight the contributions of women in soccer and soccer analytics while also providing a space for participants to network with the leaders in the industry in a fun setting,” Graves said.
The reception provided a unique and welcoming atmosphere where attendees could engage with established professionals, learn from their experiences, and build relationships within the soccer analytics community.
“One of our goals of the conference was to foster the exchange of ideas within the analytics community,” Rudd said. “This conference attracted an excellent mix of attendees from various backgrounds including academia, industry, clubs, and students interested in pursuing a career in soccer analytics. We were quite intentional about fostering opportunities for those groups to mix and discuss various topics.”
This interdisciplinary approach ensured that attendees gained exposure to a broad range of perspectives, methodologies, and career paths within soccer analytics. By facilitating dialogue between students, industry professionals, and researchers, the conference provided an opportunity for meaningful knowledge sharing.
Zefa Tullis-Thompson, a junior sport management student, was a key member of the operations team, alongside Seth Davidson, a senior sport management student, who also played a crucial role in the execution of the summit.
“Overall, I had a fabulous time planning the ASI Summit,” Tullis-Thompson said. “I got brought on last spring around March to be a student assistant in planning the operations for the conference. After some changes within our organizing committee, I was moved up to being the operations lead and handled all the operational planning for the conference.”
Her leadership in managing venue logistics, hotel accommodations, catering, and overall event operations allowed the summit to run seamlessly.
“Being part of the inaugural ASI Summit Organizer and Operations team was an incredible opportunity to showcase my leadership in event operations,” Davidson said. “What I’m most proud of is how seamlessly we brought together nearly 150 attendees - from industry professionals to students - by executing a unique and engaging conference.”
The success of the ASI Summit was made possible through strong institutional and industry support. A grant from the Office of Research at Rice, along with a generous gift from a private donor, provided the necessary funding to bring the event to life. Additionally, SkillCorner contributed proprietary player tracking data from women’s soccer leagues, while support from the Ken Kennedy Institute at Rice played a crucial role in ensuring the summit’s impact.
Sergio Rojas, a junior from Houston, Texas, is double-majoring in Business with a concentration in Finance and also Sport Management with a concentration in Leadership.