Sports and Information Technology Paper By Tyler Brett 11/19/04 Slide 1

OVERVIEW OF PAPER The majority of my paper focuses on the role that Information Technology (IT) plays in the world of sports. I emphasize the uses of both baseball and golf and talk about how it helps the owners, the players, and the experience of the fans. The second part of my paper talks about IT and the School of Business here at Quinnipiac. I try to take an in depth look at our advanced technology and emphasize how lucky we are for having so much at our finger tips. 11/19/04 Slide 2

Baseball IT is a crucial part of the game of baseball. There are systems, such as StatTracker and ScoutAdvisor, which are used throughout the major leagues that can take in every pitch that the pitcher has thrown or every swing that the batter has made and tell you what the player will do the majority of the time so that one can predict what will happen next. This is no secret, and all teams throughout the league have this opportunity at their fingertips. 11/19/04 slide 3

Baseball Back in the early 1900’s, baseball teams did not have these opportunities; they simply had to go by physical observations. The sophistication these days is mind-boggling. However, IT is not only used for stats. It is also very helpful for front offices to use them when working with their salaries. Baseball, different from basketball, has no salary cap. 11/19/04 slide 4

Golf Swing analyses today are so in depth that a spectator can truly see the breakdown of the swing as well as the strength of these players. Fans are not the only ones who get something out of these analyses. The golfers themselves also are constantly getting video tapped or observed by IT systems so they can see what they may be doing wrong so that they can make the necessary corrections to improve their game. 11/19/04 slide 5

Golf In the game of golf it is every man for themselves. However, modern day IT has aloud for the golf fan to get more involved and see a lot more about the game and the ability of these players. IT plays an interesting role in golf while a fan is watching it on television. It can give the fan every dimension to every green, length of holes, widths of fairways, and wind readings, all of which are pinpointed to an exact number. 11/19/04 slide 6

School of Business When it comes to opportunities and technology, Quinnipiac is as highly developed as any school around. The School of Business allows for wireless internet in all the classrooms granting easy access to the internet and anything a student or teacher needs without lugging around a connection wire and having to be plugged in. The new ‘Blackboard’ is also a big success and very helpful not only for the school of business but also for the whole rest of the school. 11/19/04 slide 7

School of Business My goals for the school of business is for it to keep on improving in terms of technology so that I can get as much out of my learning experience as possible. With the tuition that we pay, it would be hard to believe that it will not continue to get better and I am confident for this reason that it will. 11/19/04 slide 8

Conclusion It seems quite clear that IT is a very respectable part of our everyday lives. It is often overlooked but as one can see it plays a huge role in everyday society. Whether it is used on the field, in the classroom, or in the offices of a large company, IT can only make the job easier. That is, unless there are technical difficulties, but in any case those are to be expected. IT is very necessary in the world of sports and not only helps the athletes themselves but especially helps the front offices in terms of scouting reports, player’s stats, and perhaps most important, payrolls. 11/19/04 slide 9

Works Cited Taken from Baseline Magazine May 14, 2004-Red Sox /19/04 slide 10