Advice for Future Attendees of the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference

If you've read about the great memories made from the 2012 Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, you're hopefully considering attending the 2013 version. If so, use this post as a resource. We asked our members what advice they would give to future attendees so that they could derive the greatest possible value from the conference. Read their thoughts after the jump.

Colin Dailey: Find panelists you want to speak and try to speak to them at times other than when they first get done their panel (when they're swarmed with a ton of people). If you are prepared to speak with them at any time, you'll see them in passing later in the conference, and approach them at that point. Therefore, you'll receive more of their attention, without being mixed into the crowd of everybody else (and you'll stand out more). Also, be open to checking out new panels, as you'll probably be surprised and find something useful from panels you're unfamiliar with (topics).

Michael Hendel: My advice would be that you have to be realistic about what you want and expect from events like this. There were thousands of students and people who wanted to get jobs and meet with the sports celebrities. These guys get "hit on" anytime they are out in public and it is unreasonable for anyone to think that spending two minutes talking about a sports topic or asking questions is enough to actually get an internship. What i would do next time is talk to the attendees more than the panelists. There were representatives from 28 out of 32 basketball teams at the conference, and more teams will eventually flock to statistical conferences such as this one in the future. Talking to people around the rooms is a way to both make contacts and enjoy your time.

Adam Kirsch:
-Know what you're talking about/do your research and have questions to ask speakers
-Talk to other attendees–their backgrounds and insight will surprise you and they can often give you valuable advice
-Take notes
-Keep track of business cards/contact information you may receive and follow up within a reasonable time–remember to be gracious and grateful
-Always carry yourself in a respectful and professional manner. This is much more than confidently smiling and shaking hands.

-You should also remember that every action is a direct reflection on you, your club and your school.

Reed Longo: My best piece of advice for anyone attending this conference is to become familiar with the panelists before the conference. If you know what they do professionally, it makes the panels much easier to comprehend. Also, you never know if you have a shared connection with that person. For example, I used LinkedIn to find shared connections I had with some panelists/attendees and it helped me break barriers and make conversation. If you just do some brief research before the weekend, not only will you be able to enjoy the panels more, but it'll help you network

Daniel Lowenthal: Advice for next year is to go to what interests YOU. I went to very few panels, and chose to go to more of the EOS speeches and research presentations, and I ended up getting way more out of the conference than I did last year, when we went to almost all of the panels.

Eric Maimon: Plan what panels your going to, know the speakers well, and don't discount the attendees, some of them are bigger than the panelists.

John Rodriguez: Go to the conference with an open mind and see as many panels as you can. Do not be afraid to approach anyone you admire and have something valuable to say to them, so that the conversation of as small as 20 seconds is meaningful. Do research on the speakers and take detailed notes of the panels so that you can go back to the speakers at the end of it all with something to take away, other than a picture.

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Thank you to all the ILRSMC members that attended the SSAC and contributed to this piece. We hope to see more of you next March!

Memories: 2012 MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference

On Friday, March 2 and Saturday March, 3, over

20 Cornell ILRSMC members attended the sixth annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. The conference goal is to provide a forum for industry professionals (executives and leading researchers) and students to discuss the increasing role of analytics in the sports industry. MIT Sloan is dedicated to fostering growth in this arena, and the conference enriches opportunities for learning about the sports business world.

The club is proud to have sent such a large group to MIT in 2012, no doubt thanks to the great memories made at last year's event.

After the jump, read about some of our members' favorite moments from the 2012 SSAC.

Colin Dailey: The top highlights for me was getting to go up to people and expand on previous connections I generated at the Ivy sports symposium. I had great conversations with multiple important sports figures, and made strides toward a deeper connection and internship possibility. My favorite panel was the sports sponsorship and branding panel primarily because it was really intriguing and all of the panelists provided great insight, not just a couple of them. Additionally, I really enjoyed meeting and experiencing the true personality of some of these sports leaders.

Michael Hendel: Going to some of the research presentations and learning about the arduous and detailed work that some of these graduate students and professors have done to come up with fascinating theories. In one of the presentations, after thorough research, a group believed that trading Chris Paul for Deron Williams would have made sense for both teams. In another presentation, it was shown that home teams shoot a worse free throw percentage than the away teams because of psychological reasons. The home team actually feels more pressure because of the unnaturalness of silence.

Adam Kirsch:

-Talking to notables like Mark Shapiro, Eric Mangini and 49ers COO Paraag Marathe about the club and our projects
-Chatting about sports psychology with NFL defensive end Lawrence Jackson between panels
-Discussing the different functions within the industry with team employees in different capacities
-The Baseball Analytics and Franchises in Transition panels
-The opening panel, which featured two ILRies (Gary Bettman and Rob Manfred)

Reed Longo: There were many highlights over the weekend at MIT that made it such a great experience. However, the most memorable thing for me was sitting next to Lions DE Lawrence Jackson during the Brand Equity panel. Since it was mostly an older crowd, I kind of felt like I had to overcompensate with professionalism. Yet, when I was talking to Lawrence, it was a great change of pace to be able to kick it a bit and not resist the urge to say "dude" (which is hard enough for me to begin with). Our conversation was personal, as he gave me some great insight on comparing his days at USC, Seattle, Detroit, and the media's portrayal of his linemate Ndamukong Suh. I think anyone who heard him speak at the Coaching Analytics was impressed by his articulation and intelligence. Yet, what impressed me most was that he was recording the entire Brand Equity panel on his iPhone while taking detailed notes. There's no doubt that he will have a successful career after his playing days are over.

Daniel Lowenthal: The Trade Show was an unbelievable experience; truly unique and insightful, yet it absolutely felt like it was the first one of its kind (fist time at the conference at least.) I was the one who tweeted the coverage of it, and it really gave me some great experience in the field of sports journalism/summarization.

Eric Maimon: Networking with some of the panelists and attendees.

John Rodriguez: My favorite moments at the MIT Conference were hearing from and getting to meet both David Gill, CEO of Manchester United and Drew Carey, owner of the Seattle Sounders. One point that Carey made which I thought was really interesting is how teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona elect the president of the club every four years and how he has implemented that into his own MLS team and how he is pushing the rest of the league to do the same.

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Be sure to look for more posts concerning the club's experience at the MIT SSAC in the coming days!