Brian Burke Recap

On Tuesday, September 26, the University of Maryland Sports Business Society welcomed Brian Burke to campus. Burke is a senior analytics specialist for ESPN. Burke spoke about various topics, including his breakthrough in analytics, what he does at ESPN and recommendations for those interested in the analytics industry.

Burke attended George Mason University, where he received his master's degree in operations research in 2014. However, he got his start in analytics in 2007, when he created the website advancedfootballanalytics.com. "Back then, the word 'analytics' didn't event exist," Burke said. "It was just a buzzword, really." Through AFA, Burke showcased designs like the Win Probability Model and Expected Points Model. After creating his website, Burke began to write a column called "The Fifth Down" for The New York Times.

According to Burke, people in baseball were ahead of the curve in terms of using analytics. Experts attempted to apply baseball metrics to football but were unsuccessful, Burke said. Ranking the sports that use and accept analytics the most, Burke listed baseball at the top, followed by basketball and then football.

In 2015, Burke joined ESPN as a senior analytics specialist. A member of the Stats & Information Group's Analytics Team, Burke mainly oversees analytics for football, making sure that ESPN has the most up-to-date analytics. He puts together metrics like Quarterback Rating (QBR), Football Power Index (FPI) and in-game win probability. He also looks at other metrics like decision analytics and roster optimization. Burke described working at ESPN as a "surreal experience."

For people interested in getting into the analytics industry, Burke advised studying a technical skill, applying for positions with media companies and teams in every sport at every level, as well as becoming familiar with Python and SQL. "In the baseball world, you better have an advanced technical degree or you're probably not going to be a GM," Burke said.