Morehouse College has partnered with The Student Freedom Initiative and Stats Perform, a global leader in AI solutions for the sports industry to launch an “AI in Basketball” course.
Per Business Wire, the partnership aims to offer education about applications of AI in sports, provide internships, and expand job opportunities upon graduation for students attending AUCC member institutions.
“The promise of AI in sports is emerging; leveraging sports is a perfect pathway to expose our HBCU students to the foundational principles of AI and address the wealth gap by better positioning them for the in-demand jobs of the future,” Student Freedom Initiative Executive Director Dr. Mark A. Brown said.
The course is scheduled to launch this fall on Morehouse’s campus and is open to students from Morehouse, Spelman College, and Clark Atlanta University majoring in the areas of math, physics, and engineering.
Working in connection with Morehouse faculty, Chief Scientist at Stats Perform Dr. Patrick Lucey will teach the course.
“Stats Perform has been the pioneer of AI in the basketball space for well over a decade, not only with our computer vision systems to collect player and ball tracking data, but also with our predictive models using machine learning,” Dr. Lucey said in a statement. “We are excited to show the students some of the many ways AI can take basketball to new levels for teams, players, media organizations, fans, and others, and see it as the perfect vehicle for students to get a deep understanding on how AI can be used across many fields.”
Dr. Alfred R. Watkins, Department Chair for Computer Science at Morehouse College said the process of entering a partnership with Stats Performs Perform was “very intentional.” “We sought a long-term industry partner, the inclusion of all three HBCUs in the Atlanta University Center Consortium (AUCC), and specific learning and career opportunities within high-demand, high-growth sectors of the economy for our students,” said Watkins
Students who complete the AI in Basketball course will have the opportunity to apply for a limited number of internships with Stats Perform, with the possibility of it transitioning into a full-time employment position.
