SSAC

Clay Luter - EVP & Co-Head of Sports, Ticketmaster

Mike Markovich - VP of Business Development, NFL

Stevie Gray - Vice President Ticket Operations, Golden State Warriors

Kristin Bernert (moderator) - Executive Vice President, Madison Square Garden Sports

A multi-billion dollar industry reliant on live events, evaporated overnight in March 2020. Fans had tickets to games that might never happen or happen in a year. Teams and leagues held money for games they would need to refund. The secondary ticket market's easy flow of tickets and fees were reliant on games happening. Event cancellation was virtually non-existent. Learn how the foundation of ticketing was rocked to its core and how partners worked together to do right by the customer and by their shared goal and partnership to ensure a safe and expedient return to venue. As the sports world’s recovery continues, industry giants will share how they navigated the pandemic, the impact of new technologies & data, how analytics is driving fans' return, and how their partnerships have been strengthened to overdeliver on the fan experience.

Mark Cuban - Owner, Dallas Mavericks

Leore Avidar - Founder and CEO, Alt

Roham Gharegozlou - CEO, Dapper Labs

Nicolas Julia - CEO, Sorare

Daryl Morey (moderator) - President of Basketball Operations, Philadelphia 76ers

Over two weeks in February, the value of a pristine condition Michael Jordan rookie card went from $215,000 to $738,000. The value of sports memorabilia - ranging from cards, to sneakers, to even digital highlights - has reached an all time high despite a pandemic and recession. How did we get here, and what is memorabilia’s role as an alternative investment? What are the analytical strategies deployed by players in this industry rife with subjection around nostalgia and art? With six and seven figure price tags, are the days of collecting as a childhood hobby behind us? The panel brings together experts with a wide range of experience to debate the past, present, and future of the memorabilia business.

Greg Kim - Director of Esports, Evil Geniuses

Tal Shachar - Former Chief Digital Officer, Immortals

Emily Rand - Analyst, League Championship Series

Doug Watson - Head of Esports Insights, Riot Games

Ryan Friedman (moderator) - Former Chief of Staff, Dignitas

The Moneyball mentality has expanded from baseball to most traditional sports, as teams look for any edge that they can get on the field. Esports leagues and teams are no different. Coaches and players fight over seemingly small details such as 8 or 40 ping and teams have built departments dedicated to player assessment and health. Initial esports rosters formed as friends who wanted to play together but esports has evolved to a more calculated approach when evaluating and signing talent. At the same time, player salaries have grown from mousepads to multi-million-dollar contracts. In this panel, industry leaders will discuss the growth of competitive analysis in esports and how teams have advanced their roster building strategies.

Stephanie McMahon - Chief Brand Officer, WWE

Steve Pagliuca - Co-Chairman, Bain Capital

Burke Magnus - Executive Vice President Programming and Original Content, ESPN

Scott Soshnick (moderator) - Editor-in-Chief, Sportico

From engineering interactive viewing experiences to orchestrating virtual drafts, the production value of live sports skyrocketed when watching from home was the only option for most fans. While fans love the new changes, we rarely get a peek behind the curtain at what leagues and teams do to drastically shift their traditional production methods. This panel highlights the behind-the-scenes work of leagues and their broadcast partners to produce engaging live events when confronted with COVID.

Jordan Palmer - Quarterback Coach and Former NFL Quarterback, QB Summit

Kevin Meers - Zelus Analytics, Football Strategy Fellow

Field Yates (moderator) - Insider & Co-Host, ESPN

In 2020, we witnessed the emergence of unexpected NFL quarterback stars alongside a carousel of moves. Listen in for an in-depth, end-to-end analysis on what it means to be a quarterback and what the role entails. Our panel of football experts will look at how analytics can be used to evaluate, scout, and improve quarterbacks, as well as make the ever-important decision of whether to tag or move on from a player.

Brian Burke - Senior Sports Analyst, ESPN

Nick Caserio - General Manager, Houston Texans

Kevin Demoff - Chief Operating Officer, Los Angeles Rams

Kevin Clark (moderator) - NFL Reporter, The Ringer

With COVID nearly cancelling the college football season and ruling out pro-days for many schools, NFL front offices were left scrambling to fill out their draft boards. However, the rise of tracking data in college football, as well as indications that traditional metrics, such as the 40 yard dash time, may not be as predictive of pro success as once thought, has changed the way front offices evaluate talent. Our panel of analytics writers, coaches, and front office executives provide their unique perspectives on the current and future states of analytics for player evaluation and development in the NFL.

Wendell Holland - Founder, Beve Unlimited

Rick Devens - Former Contestant, Survivor

Sophie Clark - Former Winner, Survivor

Christian Hubicki - Roboticist and Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering

Rob Cesternino (moderator) - Host and Creator, Rob Has a Podcast

Since it first aired on American television screens in 2000, Survivor has captivated audiences. With over 40 seasons and nearly 600 episodes, Survivor boasts 7 Emmys on 63 nominations, and was listed as one of Time magazine’s 100 greatest TV shows of all time. The show has gone to incredible lengths to ensure that previously successful strategies aren’t repeated - but what does the data say? From finding immunity tokens to forming alliances, this panel brings together some of the most famous Survivor players to examine what it takes to be Sole Survivor.

Isa Guha - Presenter & Commentator, BBC Sport

Gary Kirsten - International Cricket Coach

Rahul Dravid - Director of Cricket Operations, National Cricket Academy, Bengaluru

Alok Singh - Director Global Strategy & Transformation, Dell Technologies

Cricket has grown in popularity as a sport throughout the years. In 2020, the Indian Premier League (IPL) became the first sports tournament to surpass 400 billion viewing minutes and new leagues continue to be created in new markets. But can this old sport catch up to less-tenured leagues that have leaned on analytics and advanced technologies to elevate their level of play? Hear from players and change agents from the world of cricket discuss how this globally beloved sport is playing catch up by using data and in-game technology to further develop the sport.

Rob Smedley - Director of Data Systems, Formula One Management Ltd.

Jennifer Langton - Senior Vice President of Health and Safety Innovation, NFL

Priya Ponnapalli - Senior Manager and Principal Scientist, Amazon Machine Learning Solutions Lab

Will Lopes - CEO, Catapult

Ben Fischer (moderator) - Writer, Sports Business Journal

How are advances in technology and data changing the sports world? In this panel, we dissect the impact of improvements in data technology on sports innovation. We will dive deeper into how advances such as NFL Next Gen have allowed for improved strategy and how advancements in digital products allow for better fan experiences. Sports teams and organizations are ingesting more data than ever and at a faster pace -- what does this mean for the future of sports?

Mark Walker - Senior Vice President Content Business Development and Innovation, ESPN

Jeff Bennett - VP Stats and Information, ESPN

Dayveon Ross - Co-Founder and President, Shot Tracker

Kevin Lopes (moderator) - Senior Director of Content Business Development & Innovation, ESPN

Data analysis and presentation is an increasingly important part of fan expectation and sports consumption. This discussion will be rooted in how ESPN can create new high-quality analyses to enhance fan experience powered by low latency player tracking tech. Tune in to hear our executive panel discuss how they plan to innovate the presentation of live sports leveraging partnerships with industry leading technology companies.