NYU students Smit Bajaj and Vishakh Sandwar have been crowned champions of the prestigious 2025 NFL Big Data Bowl, showcasing their innovative approach to sports analytics.
The winning team utilized the analytical framework established by SūmerSports data scientists Udit Ranasaria and Pavel Vabishchevich to enhance their groundbreaking work that impressed the NFL’s panel of judges, with additional support from SūmerSports analyst Shawn Syed.
“At SūmerSports, we’re proud to provide tools that talented data scientists like Smit and Vishakh can build upon,” said a SūmerSports spokesperson. “Many of our own team members began their football analytics careers through the Big Data Bowl, so it’s especially meaningful for us to give back to the open-source community. The achievements of Smit and Vishakh demonstrate how collaboration between industry and academia can drive innovation while allowing emerging analysts to shine on their own merits.”
The competition, which challenges participants to tackle complex football analytics problems using NFL data, continues to highlight exceptional talent in the sports technology field.
This victory reflects SūmerSports’ commitment to supporting the next generation of data scientists while advancing the collective knowledge in sports analytics.
You can explore the winning submission, “Exposing Coverage Tells in the Presnap”, to see how Bajaj and Sandwar leveraged innovative analytical techniques in their championship work.
Interested in learning how SūmerSports frameworks can elevate your team’s analytical capabilities? Contact us at footballops@sumersports.com for more information.
