Each year, the National Football League offers exclusive access to big-league performance data through NFL Big Data Bowl, a high-stakes competition that challenges participants to crunch the numbers and help find innovative solutions to make the game better for fans and players.
Among those rising to the challenge for the 2025 competition was a team from IU Indianapolis: Anurag Reddeddy and Elliott Scott, both students in IU’s applied data science master’s program with a specialization in sports analytics, and Jorian Mangum, an undergraduate design student at the IU Herron School of Art and Design.
IU is one of the only universities in the country to offer a data science master’s degree with a specialization in sports analytics. The program gives students a competitive advantage because they are trained not just in data analytics but also leading-edge topics such as machine learning, cloud computing and database construction. They can also access resume-building opportunities like the NFL Big Data Bowl challenge.
“This challenge raises your level,” said Liz Wanless, the IU Indy team’s faculty advisor. “A case competition gives you a different sense of urgency about your work and employers the opportunity to see what you can do.”
Wanless is an associate professor of sports management who teaches courses in the sports analytics degree program at IU Indianapolis, which is offered in partnership between the IU School of Health and Human Services and the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering. She is also director of the IU Sports Innovation Institute, a research center on the Indianapolis campus that blends academic thinking with an entrepreneurial spirit to create, discover and promote unique products, services and game-day experiences.
“Professional sports organizations understand how big data has grown,” Wanless said. “They know they need data scientist and data analytics support. It can’t just be individuals who analyze data on a spreadsheet; they need individuals who can explore and compile very complex data from complex data sets.”
In addition to Wanless’ guidance, the IU Indianapolis Data Bowl team benefited from an alumni mentor, Jack Gray, one of the first graduates of IU’s sports analytics degree program who is now a data scientist with the Cleveland Browns. He is also a past competitor in the Data Bowl.
“A lot of data scientists these days come up through the Data Bowl,” said Gray, who estimates that nearly half of his colleagues in data science and data analytics at the Browns are also past participants. “A lot of students in graduate programs or undergrad programs are building very complex models now that are useful and interpretable. It’s almost gotten to the point where it’s a red flag if you’ve never had a data bowl entry. If you’re passionate about football and data, why wouldn’t you?”
More than 75 Big Data Bowl participants have been hired in data and analytics roles in sports, according to the NFL. These professionals are responsible for crunching the numbers on everything from player performance to business decision-making, said Gray, such as calculating how game day weather forecasts impact how many season ticket holders will show up or the number of concession workers needed to meet guest demands.
A native of India whose passion for sports began with soccer, Reddeddy’s appreciation for American football began to flourish after choosing to participate in the Data Bowl. Shortly after signing up, he and teammate Scott started watching pro games together. Scott’s infectious knowledge and passion sparked Reddeddy’s own football fandom, including a devotion to Scott’s favorite team, the Baltimore Ravens.
As the only undergraduate student on the team, Mangum’s connection to the sport is even more personal. The senior design student spent his high school years as an interior offensive lineman at Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis.
“Coming from a sports background, I know the terminology and so can better explain the terminology through my words and my work for people who might not understand,” said Mangum, who was responsible for translating his teammate’s analyses into visually compelling information.
For the 2025 NFL Data Bowl, the IU Indy team was challenged to produce insights and actionable predictions into what the offense or defense does after the snap based upon data from what happens before the snap. The team’s project focused on predicting the routes run by wide receivers during NFL plays.
In addition to the IU Indianapolis team, 14 teams from the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering in Bloomington submitted applications to the Data Bowl, most consisting of two students each. An estimated 300 teams submitted to this year’s competition, with five teams selected to advance to the final round with presentations at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on Feb. 26. The IU teams were not among the finalists in this year’s competition.
Beyond the Data Bowl, Reddeddy said studying sports analytics at IU has provided hands-on learning experiences, such as consulting projects with the NCAA and Pacers. His goal is to use the skills gained from the program to break into the professional sports industry in India.
Mangum added the Herron School has also given him valuable networking experiences related to his desired career in sports design. Through the American Institute of Graphic Artists Student Group at IU, he has met leaders in the field such as Dan Brown, creative director for the Cincinnati Bengals, and Jeremy Sally, head of design at PUMA Basketball, a division of the sportswear brand that produces basketball shoes, apparel and accessories.
The IU Indianapolis campus is well-positioned to launch students into the sports world due to its location in the amateur sports capital of the world, Wanless said. In addition to access to high-quality internship and consulting experiences with professional sports teams such as the Pacers, the Colts and the Indianapolis Indians, the city is home to the NCAA headquarters on the southwest edge of the Indianapolis campus.
The university also has big sports plans on the horizon, including the construction of the James T. Morris Arena, a $110 million, 134,000-square-foot multipurpose athletics center expected to complete construction in fall 2026.
“It’s a big growth area still in the industry,” Wanless said of sports analytics. “We’ve got a special program here that is very effective in meeting professional needs — not just now, but five years from now, too.”
