ShotTracker tech nets entry into NCAA Division 1 sports with Hall of Fame tourney

ShotTracker is advancing in the bracket of startup success, company officials announced Thursday, revealing their game-changing, sensor-based, stat and analytics tracking system will debut this fall at the 2018 NCAA Division I Hall of Fame Classic.

ShotTracker tech in action

In partnership with the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), ShotTracker technology — which uses sensors in players’ shoes, afixed to arena rafters, and tucked away inside basketballs to track motion — will capture every shot, dribble, and pass inside the Sprint Center during all four games of the Nov. 19-20 tournament.

“This will back up our coaches and players — with something they understand. They’re from this world of analytics,” said Reggie Minton, NABC director, Thursday morning at ShotTracker’s Merriam headquarters.

The partnership allows for unprecedented engagement and coaching precision, Minton said. It’s an exciting development for ShotTracker, which now gets its athletic shoe-clad foot in the door of NCAA Division 1 sports, added Davyeon Ross, co-founder and chief operating officer.

“This is an amazing first,” he said, noting the NABC’s ambitious and forward-looking views on innovation made the organization a perfect fit for ShotTracker’s product.

Thursday’s announcement follows the company’s successful NAIA partnership that used augmented reality and real-time analytics to revolutionize the in-game fan experience; allowing users of the ShotTracker Fan app to view stats beyond the scoreboard.

Bruce Ianni, ShotTracker co-founder

ShotTracker also has taken on substantial investments from Magic Johnson and former NBA commissioner David Stern. Still, the company’s leadership — which includes co-founder Bruce Ianni — can’t stop looking at ShotTracker as a startup, Ross said.

“We’re still learning, we’re still evolving … There’s a lot of innovation that happens,” he said, describing the emotion he and his partners still experience as they build the brand. “It’s in our DNA to be a startup.”

ShotTracker is also rolling out technological advancements for broadcasters like ESPN – the network set to carry the hall of fame classic. Ross demonstrated Thursday the product’s latest augmented reality feature that will allow networks to more efficiently highlight activity on the court — previously done in post-production by a host of video editors.

Fans can also expect to immerse themselves in new AR features. The ShotTracker fan app will allow users to compete against each other in interactive, prediction based games that make use of players in-game stats.

Ross believes the hall of fame classic will be a slam dunk for ShotTracker, he said, pushing the company even closer to its goal of becoming for gyms what WiFi is for coffee shops.