November 1, 2024
update
Driving the game forward: iPad partners with college football
Featuring new nano-textured display glass and Apple Pencil Pro support, iPad Pro with M4 integrates seamlessly into the sideline, providing new capabilities for coaches and players.
Eager tailgaters are finishing off bowls of jambalaya, “Geaux Tigers” banners catch a rare breeze in the Louisiana heat, energetic college kids are starting to fill the stands, and more than a dozen iPad Pros are on the field. Baton Rouge.
Pregame feasts and Cajun cuisine are long-time traditions at Tiger Stadium, but the iPads on the sidelines are something entirely new. In April of this year, the NCAA approved a rule allowing college football teams to use up to 18 active tablets. On the sidelines, in the coaching booth, and in the locker room during games. Taking advantage of these new rules, three conferences – the ACC, SEC and Big Ten – have selected iPads to meet their game-day needs, including all broadcast feeds as well as in-game video taken from the sidelines and endzones.
“The new iPad Pro with nano-texture display technology is incredible,” said Doug Aucoin, video director at Louisiana State University. “If it weren’t for the nano-textured glass on the new iPad Pro, the glare from the sun would be enough to see every image in the field.”
Combating the natural elements, especially glare, was an early concern for college football staff, and what the NFL uses for sideline reviews also required unique skills. During NFL games, teams only have access to still images, not video. Fortunately, iPad Pro’s new nano-textured glass provides a suitable solution for watching video outdoors by scattering ambient light and reducing glare while maintaining image quality and contrast.
Dubbed the “Godfather of SEC Video Coordinators” and a 2022 inductee into the College Sports Video Association’s Sports Film and Video Hall of Fame, Aucoin has been at the forefront of the evolution of technology in college football. He recalls that when he started working at LSU in 1997, one of the administrative assistants in the football office still had a typewriter on his desk. He currently oversees a sophisticated game-day system that combines iPads and sports software to deliver video into coaches’ hands within seconds of the game ending.
Catapult, a sports performance analytics company, is the software provider for all teams in the SEC. Here’s how in-game video is generated: Each team has an independent videographer who films the end zone and sidelines and also has access to the broadcast feed. Each team then has a staff member who records the games. That means tagging plays with details like downs, distance, offense, defense, kick phase of the game, run, or pass. analyze.
“While they’re tagging, we cut and sync the video clips in the background, then send the video package to coaches’ press boxes and iPads on the sidelines,” says Matt Bairos, senior product at Catapult. officer.
The end result is an in-game video solution that players can adjust the next time they take the field.
The ACC and Big Ten are working with a software company called DVSport for in-game video. In these conferences, a central replay technician records the game and the home team films sideline and end zone angles.
“DVSport’s collaboration with Apple is a great example of new software and hardware working together to deliver game-changing solutions,” said Brian Lowe, President and CEO of DVSport. “Equity, speed and high visibility are key components of the solution, and Apple’s latest iPad Pro and iPad Air truly excel at delivering a simple and elegant end-user experience.”
“In-game coaching is much more effective when you have an iPad at your side,” says Mike Saffell, Berkeley tight ends coach. “Real-time feedback allows players and coaches to make quick corrections. It also makes the game more competitive because both teams can resolve any issues on game day.”
Fernando Mendoza, Cal’s starting quarterback, agrees. “In the past, there were a lot of things you couldn’t see until the game was over, so it’s nice to be able to do that kind of coaching from the side. When you’re on the pitch, it’s the same football. “But now they can go with the coaches off the pitch, make adjustments, get guidance and get back into the game, which has helped a lot with the development of the young players,” he says.
When it comes to incorporating new technology, Bairos and several coaches credit the familiarity of iPads with making the process seamless. “It’s an easy-to-use, friendly interface. There’s no learning curve at all,” he says. “Putting iPads with our software into the hands of coaches allows them to become self-sufficient. They understand how to use the iPad and they understand the touch elements.”
Ole Miss general manager Billy Glasscock points out that Apple Pencil Pro is another benefit of using the iPad. “If you want to install plays based on their in-game appearance, the Catapult app has a whiteboard feature that can be used to draw with Apple Pencil Pro or your fingertip. There is also the ability to draw on video clips,” he says.
The rollout to players also went smoothly because they are familiar with the iPad. “They grew up with these things in their hands,” said Alex Mirabal, offensive line coach at the University of Miami.
Mirabal found the iPad especially useful during a thrilling October game against Cal, which the Hurricanes won by 25 points to one. “On the sixth play of the game, we gave up a sack. So after the series I was able to show off the offensive line. ‘Look, this is what we got,’ he says. “’If we ever see something like this again, this is how we’re going to resolve the situation.’ And later in the game they brought that same blitz and boom and we went for it. So it’s very helpful.” Mirabal added that players often grab their iPads and review on their own, especially at halftime.
“‘Where’s the iPad? ‘Where’s the iPad?’ That’s the first thing we do as soon as we set off.” Miami wide receiver Isaiah Horton said. Horton points out that in addition to more efficient coaching, using iPad devices has also helped with coordination between players. “It’s just, ‘Hey, this is what I saw. But instead of saying, ‘I’m not sure what you saw because the quarterback is looking at half the field and I’m looking at the whole thing,’ it’s about showing the visual. On the other side of the field.’”
In the long term, Horton sees in-game iPads changing the game for the better by keeping players and coaches on the same page. Mendoza sees a more strategy-driven game, while Glasscock envisions a more complex game where teams make extra plays into the game, knowing they only have one attempt before the opponent makes a correction. Mirabal is seeing the game played at a higher level across the board.
“It’s our challenge as coaches not to be afraid of technology continuing to be introduced into the game,” Mirabal says. “But I think – I know The use of iPads on the sidelines has had a huge impact on the game in a positive way. “I don’t know a single coach in America who would say it was negative.”
For Aucoin, there’s another layer to witnessing the iPad’s impact on his side hustle. His father, Erby Aucoin, who became the NFL’s first full-time film director when the New Orleans Saints hired him in 1967, introduced the practice of in-game reviews when he devised a system of taking Polaroid photos in the coaching booth. essentially pioneered. Slide it aside along the wire for review.
“We’ve gone from Polaroid cameras to thermal printers, and now we’ve evolved from gaming to the iPad with full-fledged video capabilities,” Aucoin says. “And you know, my dad did that for the first time a few years ago. So to be able to see the evolution of all of this is kind of a proud moment for me.”
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