Texas Athletics Launches Bevo Lab, First-of-Its-Kind Sports AI Platform Saving 15 Hours Weekly

Texas Athletics Pioneers Sports AI Innovation with Bevo Lab

University of Texas athletics has launched Bevo Lab, positioning itself as higher education's premier sports intelligence platform and living laboratory for AI-powered game-planning tools1

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. The ambitious initiative represents a collaboration between Texas Athletics, the McCombs School of Business, and corporate partners Google Cloud, Dell Technologies, and SHI International3

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. Athletic director Chris Del Conte declared the facility will become "the global benchmark for innovation in sports AI and data analytics, making Texas Athletics the most data-driven program in the country"1

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. The 25,000-square-foot space inside Austin's Innovation Tower serves all 21 sports programs and more than 500 athletes, with founding partners bringing cutting-edge technology to collegiate athletics3

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Google Cloud Partnership Delivers Immediate Game Preparation Results

Texas has partnered with Google Cloud to power Bevo Lab's AI capabilities, utilizing the Gemini AI system to transform how coaches prepare for competition1

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. Early implementation has already saved coaches more than 15 hours per week in game preparation this season, according to Kirk Goldsberry, executive director of the Business of Sports Institute at Texas3

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. Coaches now interact with a chatbot that analyzes opponent tendencies—answering questions about blitz frequencies on third-and-5, receiver targeting patterns, and run-pass probabilities in specific situations3

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. Google engineers rebuilt game-planning reports, streamlining what Goldsberry described as digging through "haystacks of data" that previously consumed staff time Saturday nights and Sunday mornings3

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. The Football Scouting Intelligence tool automates opponent data and video reports that coaching staffs traditionally compiled manually each week3

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Bevo Lakehouse Consolidates Sports Data Across Multiple Systems

At the core of the data-driven program sits the Bevo Lakehouse, a unified data warehouse consolidating previously siloed sports-specific information into a single platform1

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. The system integrates game film, wearable tech data from companies like Catapult, and human movement metrics tracking player acceleration, deceleration, heart rate, and physical wear3

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. Starting with football, the platform plans to pull comprehensive data across all athletic programs, making information accessible to coaches, players, trainers, nutritionists, and analysts2

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. Predictive AI models analyze this consolidated data to support roster evaluation, game strategy development, scouting operations, and player development initiatives1

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. Del Conte believes data will soon challenge traditional play-calling habits, noting that AI might reveal a coach's "favorite play" actually underperforms in specific situations when examined through comprehensive analysis3

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Transfer AI Transforms Recruiting and Revenue-Sharing Decisions

Bevo Lab has developed transfer AI capabilities that fundamentally reshape how Texas approaches recruiting across multiple sports2

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. The system grades transfer portal candidates and projects their performance against SEC competition, with Goldsberry bringing data scientists from his San Antonio Spurs tenure to build models rating approximately 5,000 men's and 5,000 women's college basketball players3

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. Both men's coach Sean Miller and women's coach Vic Schaefer utilize these scouting tools, while football versions generate performance scores for transfer targets across nearly every position group3

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. Goldsberry emphasized the platform scouts players regardless of their current school—"I don't care if you're playing at Harvard, if you're playing at Michigan, if you're playing at Bowling Green, I've got you scouted"3

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. The data analytics in collegiate athletics now extend to financial planning, helping determine appropriate revenue-sharing compensation for players. Goldsberry noted the challenge has evolved from simply finding the best player to "being the best player within our budget"3

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Student Researchers Gain Real-World Sports Analytics Experience

Bevo Lab creates unprecedented learning opportunities for students pursuing careers in sports technology and analytics1

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. Goldsberry has hired 24 undergraduate students for the lab's inaugural team, with training beginning under Google's guidance3

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. The program will involve up to 40 student researchers in its first year, eventually scaling to 200 students annually managing modeling and data projects2

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. Goldsberry, a former ESPN basketball analyst and author who previously served as the Spurs' vice president for strategic research, leads the Business of Sports Institute overseeing these initiatives2

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. Former NBA star Chris Bosh, currently a Tower Fellow in a nine-month learning program, joins the lab's staff, while Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant, a Texas alum and BOSI advisory board member, will increase involvement after retirement2

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. Lab construction should finish in approximately three months, with full operations expected in 20273

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Clarifying AI's Role in Real-Time Game Decisions

Chris Del Conte addressed confusion following reports about AI influencing a critical fourth-and-2 decision during Texas's loss to Florida2

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. The athletic director clarified he cited the play as an example of what the AI-powered game-planning tool "could suggest, not what it actually did," after initial reports suggested Bevo Lab directly influenced the failed conversion attempt where Arch Manning lost 3 yards2

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. Del Conte emphasized the technology serves as a supportive tool rather than a decision-maker, stating "It's not the boogeyman. Let's lean into this. Let's lean into analytics"3

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. While AI won't be calling football plays directly, it provides data-driven insights that coaches can incorporate into their strategic thinking1

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. The sports intelligence platform represents what Texas believes is the first-of-its-kind hub focused specifically on sports analytics at the university level, though AI adoption is spreading across football—NFL teams use Microsoft Copilot-powered tools, and Arizona State began using Intel AI-powered computers for recruiting and game preparation in 20253

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. Texas's competitive advantage lies in scale: combining a university lab, Google engineers, and student researchers building comprehensive tools across 21 teams3

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