Summit League Partners With Athletics Admin on AI Strategy
The Summit League hired Athletics Admin to review conference-office workflows and develop practical AI resources for staff and member schools.
The Division I conference and Athletics Admin will review current work, identify useful AI applications and develop resources for league staff and member schools.
The Summit League has partnered with college athletics consultancy Athletics Admin to assess how the conference office uses artificial intelligence and where it could improve existing workflows. The league announced the arrangement Oct. 1.
Under the partnership, Athletics Admin will work with conference staff to evaluate current processes, identify tasks where AI could save time, and help develop AI-related resources and tools. The work is intended to support both the league office and its eight member institutions. The announcement did not specify a contract term, fee, or timetable for rolling out tools.
“I know artificial intelligence will never fully replace human capital, judgment or creativity, but it can enhance each of them.” — Josh Fenton, Commissioner, The Summit League
KC Smurthwaite, Chief Operating Officer and Lead Consultant, Athletics Admin, said the firm sees AI as a way to reduce repetitive work and leave more time for staff judgment, creativity and relationships. Smurthwaite described this as another partnership with the conference.
Athletics Admin has already met with Summit League staff about conference-office workflows, according to the announcement. Fenton said the league is seeing progress in some of those workflows, but neither partner provided a quantitative result or named a specific tool deployed through the engagement.
The Sioux Falls-based Summit League is an NCAA Division I conference that sponsors 18 championship sports. Its members include North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Oral Roberts and St. Thomas.
