FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 10, 2024
MEDIA CONTACT: Anisha Chakrabarti: anishac@thekraftgroup.com
NCAA PARTNERS WITH KAGR (KRAFT ANALYTICS GROUP) TO INNOVATE FAN EXPERIENCE WITH NEW DATA AND INSIGHTS
The collaboration will build one of the largest college sports fan databases in the country.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Today, the NCAA and KAGR, a leading sports data technology and analytics firm, announced a new business deal that will use data to provide unprecedented support to collegiate athletic conferences and athletic departments nationwide, empower student athletes, and enhance fan and alumni engagement. After conducting a competitive procurement process, NCAA President Charlie Baker announced the deal at the 2024 NCAA Convention in Phoenix, Arizona.
“The NCAA’s arrangement with KAGR marks a significant milestone in its evolution, as it endeavors to grow its digital strategy and connect to fans in new and innovative ways using technology and data,” said Jessica Gelman, CEO of KAGR. “From championing equality in women’s sports to strategically selecting championship locations and setting bold targets for audience growth, we are confident that the impact will be felt across the NCAA’s various dimensions and are proud that this collaboration will help provide college sports fans and student-athletes with the best possible experience.”
KAGR’s technology platform centralizes fan behaviors and with KAGR’s data models will drive visibility into and across the 90 NCAA championships to grow the NCAA’s reach by four to five times by 2030. It will also expand the NCAA’s college sports fan database to reach 25 million fans in the next two to four years, making it the largest college sports fan database in the country and possibly the largest women’s sports fan database in the world. The NCAA aims to forge deeper connections with college sports fans by growing its direct connection to customers, volunteers, and fans. KAGR will help do so by understanding who the NCAA’s audience is and who they are missing and then use these insights to drive personalized messages to fans about where their favorite teams or players are competing.
Utilizing KAGR to better understand the preferences and behaviors of fans, the NCAA can tailor experiences, marketing strategies, and engagement initiatives to foster a more extensive and dedicated community.
The NCAA will actively find innovative ways to generate awareness and provide information to college sports fans on teams, conferences, and championship events. Through data-driven insights, KAGR will work with the NCAA to support strategies and structures for ensuring the success of those events. The NCAA will be able to more strategically target future championship cities to enhance the overall fan experience by analyzing data such as fan demographics, rising sports interest by market, customer preferences, and historical attendance.
KAGR’s expertise in partnering with and supporting a wide array of national leagues as well as sports and entertainment entities will also allow the NCAA to grow demand and live attendance for sports through advanced analytics and proven marketing strategies aimed at capturing fan interest in real-time. These programs will help drive more equality across the college sports landscape, in an effort to ensure that women’s programs continue to receive the attention and support that they deserve.
This collaboration will allow fans and alumni to further engage with their favorite collegiate teams and athletes like never before. KAGR will help implement new strategies informed by advanced analytics, including buyer segmentation, popularity index and customer lifetime value, to ensure a more inclusive and immersive experience across all sports.
About the NCAA
The NCAA is a diverse association of more than 1,100 member colleges and universities that prioritize academics, well-being and fairness to create greater opportunities for nearly half a million student-athletes each year. The NCAA provides a pathway to higher education and beyond for student-athletes pursuing academic goals and competing in NCAA sports. More than 54,000 student-athletes experience the pinnacle of intercollegiate athletics by competing in NCAA championships each year. Visit ncaa.org and ncaa.com for more details about the Association and its programs that support the NCAA membership, which includes its student-athletes.
About KAGR
KAGR (Kraft Analytics Group) is a progressive technology and service company providing data management, advanced analytics, and consulting services for the sports and entertainment industries. Whether leveraging its proprietary technology platform or partnering with its strategic services team, KAGR helps organizations become data-driven and uses those analytics to grow the bottom line. KAGR is a team of the brightest minds in sports, entertainment, and technology focused on finding insights for their clients who span across all the major six U.S. sports leagues, college athletics, and other key industry players. For more information, visit www.kagr.com.