QSS students attend MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference

The 2025 MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference was held on March 7-8 in Boston, and four Dartmouth students, Rebecca Risch '25, Ethan Greenberg '26, Ava Politis '26, and Atul Venkatesh '27, had the opportunity to attend. These students are members of the Sports Analytics Club at Dartmouth, which sponsors a research competition every year, the winners of which receive tickets to the MIT conference. This year's winners were Rebecca and Ethan. 

We asked this year's four conference attendees about their experiences, and here is what they said.

According to Ava Politis, who is majoring in Quantitative Social Science (QSS) and will be working this summer as an intern with the Staten Island Ferry Hawks, "The conference was an experience I will never forget. Growing up as a New York Mets fan, it was incredible to be able to witness David Stearns on the stage. Hearing how Stearns was able to work his way from an intern to one of the highest positions within a team was inspiring and encouraged me to continue following my dreams. I also got a chance to talk to the president of the Los Angeles Rams Kevin Demoff who is a Dartmouth alumnus. It was a great opportunity to hear about how his experiences as sports editor of The Dartmouth helps him today. Overall, the conference highlighted that teams have so much data and there are many different ways to use it. Sports analytics is a growing field and I am so excited to take part in it when I graduate college. Thank you, President Beilock, for allowing me to attend this conference and giving me this amazing opportunity."

President of the Sports Analytics Club Atul Venkatesh, who is also majoring in QSS, had a great time at the conference. "As someone looking to break into the sports analytics industry, the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference was an invaluable opportunity. It was awe-inspiring to see so many industry experts in one place and I enjoyed the panel discussions and research presentations. A huge thanks to President Beilock and Dartmouth College for giving me this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Contest winner Ethan Greenberg had a lot to say about the conference. "Sloan was such a special experience for me. Not only did I get to hear from incredibly interesting speakers, but I got to meet with the people who are 10-20 years ahead of me on their career paths and connect in really special ways beyond the superficial. I've never enjoyed networking so much, and I got so much out of the experience both in fun and learning."

Rebecca Risch, who majored in Mathematical Data Sciences and will be joining the Chicago Cubs as a Junior Analyst in the Baseball Analytics Department in the summer of 2026, returned from the conference with plenty of insights to share. "Sloan was fantastic. The best part was learning about how data analytics is being incorporated into smaller-market sports, such as volleyball, gymnastics, tennis, etc. You hear most about analytics applied to baseball and football, but it's cool to see the growth in sports that aren't yet as analytically forward. It was also great to meet industry professionals, everyone is very nice. The sports analytics community is small and tight knit."