The NCAA today announced a landmark initiative to transform the digital collection and distribution of intercollegiate sports data. This initiative, conducted in partnership with Genius Sports, a global leader in official sports data and technology services, will benefit the NCAA’s more than 1,100 member institutions across all three divisions and will be used in select NCAA championships, starting with men’s and women’s basketball tournaments in 2019.

The cutting-edge software will revolutionize how real-time data and statistics are captured, managed and distributed. The technology subsequently will be rolled out to schools for other NCAA sports, including volleyball, football, soccer, baseball and softball.

As a service to its membership, the NCAA will offer the application to its members at no cost for an introductory period.

NCAA member schools and conferences adopting the software platform will benefit from enhanced data capture and distribution services, richer coaching insights, and a captivating fan and media experience with engaging statistics delivered to multiple platforms in real time.

In addition to providing development, promotional and technical support for the data software, Genius Sports will serve as the NCAA’s exclusive agent in licensing real-time official data from championship events, including NCAA March Madness, to media platforms and other companies.

“This digital transition comes at a time when data for all intercollegiate sports are increasingly important to our fans, our institutions and our partners,” said Oliver Luck, executive vice president of regulatory affairs and strategic partnerships for the NCAA. “This initiative will transform the way we collect, use and distribute the vast amount of sports data being consumed across all sports at every level. It will allow our schools to upgrade to state-of-the-art technology.”

“This technology will deliver a world-class experience for NCAA fans, coaches, players, athletic directors and administrators alike,” said Mark Locke, CEO of Genius Sports. “We’re delighted to be playing a pivotal role in the NCAA’s digital transformation, implementing one of the most advanced technology systems in sports.”