Mid-America Conference Signs Data Partnership With Genius Sports

Genius Sports Limited announced it had secured a “first-of-its-kind official sports data, fan engagement and integrity partnership” with the Mid-American Conference (MAC).

What Genius Deal With the MAC Means

Described as “the official data and technology partner that powers the ecosystem connecting sports, betting, and media,” Genius Sports has joined forced forces with one branch of the NCAA that sponsors championship games across 24 sports.

With this partnership, Genius Sports Limited will “capture, manage and distribute” statistics from the MAC while also giving the “fastest and most reliable” feed of data on competitions all year long to create a more “immersive and engaging” experience for fans.

This partnership also brings stats from the MAC to NCAA LiveStats.

Those who engage in sports betting will find the data useful for wagering.

Genius Sports will also provide the MAC with “access to its cutting-edge optical data tracking and video augmentation solutions for its men’s basketball championship” using its Second Spectrum division.

On top of this, Genius Sports also brings some free-to-play games, live data and stat integration, and widgets that aim to convert “passive viewers into highly interactive players.”

To continue providing players and viewers with transparency, Genius Sports will also be introducing a new integrity program into the ecosystem.

They will also do a complete audit of the MAC’s existing system.

How the Deal Helps the MAC

The MAC started in 1946, and today is one of the 10 FBS conferences in the NCAA. With Genius’ capabilities and “dynamic creative services,” this partnership should improvise sales on tickets, merchandise, subscriptions.

Genius Sports has a sub-licensing agreement with JMI Sports. This opens up the possibility for that network to pursue sponsorship opportunities, including the Football Championship and Women’s Basketball tournaments to its network.

“Recognizing our unique capabilities across data collection, tracking, personalized marketing and more, the MAC has embraced our vision of providing college sports fans with immersive and highly engaging experiences,” Genius Sports CEO Mark Locke said in a news release. “Furthermore, the MAC also selected Genius Sports, as one of the most established sports integrity providers in the market, to help ensure its competitions, teams and players are protected against the potential threats of betting-related corruption.”

“After significant discussion with our membership, I am pleased that we have reached an agreement to partner with Genius Sports, including both a sponsorship alongside a licensing deal that includes the marketing and managing of our statistical data,” Mid-American Conference Commissioner Dr. Jon A. Steinbrecher said in the release. “This partnership will permit us to exert greater control of our statistics, provide increased oversight over events through the utilization of integrity services and provide support and financial benefits for the Conference and its membership. We have the responsibility to manage our assets and leverage those assets for the benefit of the student-athletes and our member institutions. The partnership with Genius Sports will assist us in those efforts.”