Statistics In Sports Research Group

Northern Kentucky University - Department of Mathematics and Statistics

 

Our Mission

As both professional statisticians and serious fans of professional and collegiate sports, we are dedicated to the application of statistical methodology to the study of sports and games.  We are primarily engaged in the direction and support of faculty mentored undergraduate research experiences. 

 

Contact Information

 

    Dr. Joe Nolan                 Email:  nolanj1@nku.edu      Phone:  859-572-6301

 

    Dr. David Agard             Email:  agard@nku.edu         Phone:  859-572-6545

 

    Dr. Carl Miller                Email:  millercar@nku.edu     Phone:  859-572-6452


Students interested in developing and participating in a project should contact one of the above faculty members for further information.

 

Students

 

    Greg Colston (Summer/Fall 2010)12ac    The Best Baseball Season Ever?  A Triple Crown Perspective

 

    Dan Bell (Summer 2011)12ac                 Various Factors Affecting NBA Success

 

    Ari Fitter (Summer 2012)12acd               Super Bowl Squares:  A Different Approach

 

    Meagan Lovins (Summer 2012)12ace      Measuring Performance Peaks in Sports

 

    Kara Cocco (Summer 2013)12b              Big Dance: Analysis of Bracketology

 

    Craig Heard (Summer 2013)12bc            Challenges of NCAA Reclassification

 

    Danielle Hoffman (Summer 2014)12b      Investigating Data Mythology in Major League Baseball

 

    Ben Hovey (Summer 2014)12bf              Major League Baseball: Paying More for Less Performance?

                                                              2015 E-USR presentation

 

    Joey List (Summer 2015)12bf                 The NBA Draft: The Effect of Leaving College Early

                                                              2015 E-USR presentation

 

    Maria McMahon (Summer 2016)12bg      Baseball Hall of Fame: Examining Factors for Enshrinement

    Jesus Riera-Sanchez

    Courtney Taylor

 

    Clayton Frink (Summer 2017)12bf          Golf Handicapping Analysis

    David Kalfas                                                         2017 E-USR presentation

    Austin Quillen

 

    Colton Gearhart (2017-18)13a               Basketball: The Statistics Behind the Statistics

 

    Andrew Cox (Summer 2019)12b            Mining College Basketball Data

    Sam List

    Silas Adheke

 

    Evan Berryman (Summer 2020)12         Analysis of Draft vs. Academy System in Soccer

 

    Matt Henn (Summer 2020)12                Assessing Swimming World Records

 

 

 

(1)        Dr. Nolan was a faculty mentor on the project.

(2)        Dr. Agard was a faculty mentor on the project.

(3)        Dr. Miller was a faculty mentor on the project.

(a)        Presented results at NKU Celebration of Student Research

(b)        Presented results at the NKU Heather Bullen Interdisciplinary Summer Research Celebration

(c)         Presented results at Posters at the Capitol in Frankfort 

(d)        Presented results at the 40th Annual Mathematics and Statistics Conference: Statistics in Sports (Miami, OH 09/2012).

(e)        Presented results at KYMAA meetings (04/2013).

(f)          Presented at the Electronic Undergraduate Statistics Research Conference.

(g)        Submitted to USPROC competition (12/2016 USCLAP catagory, 3rd place).

 

 

Data Links

 

Baseball

*      Sean Lahman's Baseball Database (Includes statistics for MLB from the 19th century through 2010)

*      Baseball Reference (Baseball statistics sortable by player)

*      Baseball America (Minor League Statistics)

*      Brooks Baseball (Pitching FX Statistics)

*      Retrosheet (Play-by-play data)

Basketball

*      Basketball Reference (Basketball statistics sortable by player)

General

*      http://www.databasesports.com/


 

FAQ

  1. How can I get involved in SIS research at NKU?  Contact Dr. Nolan or Dr. Agard (contact info above).
     
  2. Are there any course completion requirements for SIS research?  It is strongly preferred that students will have completed at least STA 250 prior to research.  Additional STA courses beyond that level can certainly be helpful, but we are generally able to help students come up with a project at the appropriate level.
     
  3. What are the benefits to becoming involved in SIS research?  First and foremost, it is lots of fun!  Beyond that, undergraduate research strengthens your resume.  It is also sometimes possible to find grant money for student projects or award 300-level research course credit. 
     
  4. What is the primary outcome for SIS research?  Generally speaking, we expect that our research students will minimally present a poster at NKU Celebration of Student Research.  Additional presentations and even publication are certainly possible and are also good resume builders!

 

Thanks

We are thankful for support received from the following campus entities:

*      NKU Department of Mathematics and Statistics
 

*      Center for Integrative Natural Science and Mathematics (CINSAM)
 

*      Burkardt Consulting Center

 

 

Last Updated 5/1/2020