Comcast
The Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech accelerator has added Notre Dame as a program partner. SportsTech, which is operated jointly by Comcast and Boomtown, pairs an annual class of ten sports startups with a group of advisor companies either owned by or partnered with Comcast and its subsidiaries. Notre Dame is the first collegiate partner, and it joins a roster that includes NASCAR, NBC Sports,
the Premier League, the PGA Tour and WWE. NBC has broadcast Notre Dame home football games since 1991.
Comcast VP/Startup Partnerships
Jenna Kurath, who leads the SportsTech program, said Notre Dame had initially reached out to former NBC Sports Chair
Pete Bevacqua when SportsTech was first announced in January 2020, and that Bevacqua, who earlier this year
took over as Notre Dame’s AD, was an early champion for the program.
“The university is very, very focused on athlete and player performance, team and coach success, any of those technologies that can really make sure they’re meeting the students where they are,” Kurath said of Notre Dame’s objectives in joining the SportsTech partner roster.
John Wagle, Notre Dame’s Associate AD for Sports Performance, will oversee the university’s involvement and already served as a mentor during a recent event where participating startups showcased progress on their pilot programs. Notre Dame will also now join the selection process for the fifth SportsTech cohort for next year; Kurath said the program has already received more than 1,500 applications.
Kurath noted that there’s not much room for additional program advisors, but that the NBA is at the top of her wishlist. The NBA operates a similar program with sports startups, NBA Launchpad.
“There is a lot of crossover [in the areas of] predictive analytics and creating more of that fantasy engagement experience around sports,” said Kurath, who added that SportsTech and NBA Launchpad have previously worked with some of the same startups. “So I’d say from an ethos standpoint and a strong culture invested in innovation, that would be my ideal other partner should something work out.”
