LOS ANGELES — When Rose Bowl Week began, no one could have predicted that Catapult, an Australian sports technology company, would be the center of the pregame drama.
It all started on Thursday when Alabama players leaked something that wasn’t intended for public consumption. In the lead-up to the College Football Playoff semifinal game against Michigan, players were not allowed to review practice film on their iPads due to security concerns related to servers. Where Catapult stores and distributes footage.
Alabama players suggested the concerns may be related to Michigan’s sign-stealing scandal, which garnered national attention earlier this season.
The next development came Friday morning, when Michigan State players also announced they had stopped providing film to players individually through Catapult, a change they actually made in November.
“We just figured out what was going on,” Michigan offensive coordinator Sherone Moore said. “So I told my kids they’re not going to watch their work on the iPad anymore. We’re going to monitor that internally and deal with it that way.”
If that wasn’t intriguing enough, Catapult released a statement that was first obtained by For the Win and then distributed to other media outlets, raising fears of NCAA and police involvement. .
“We are aware of an ongoing investigation into allegations of unauthorized access to NCAA football video footage,” the statement said. “We conducted an internal investigation and found no security breaches in our systems. We have shared this information with local governments conducting investigations. We are working with the NCAA and local governments. We continue to support ongoing investigations. At Catapult, we adhere to the highest standards and the protection of customer information is of paramount importance to us.”
Yahoo! Sports later reported that the investigation was centered on “at least one other school” rather than Michigan State, according to anonymous sources.
Much of this story is still vague and developing, but here’s what we know so far.
Why are catapults important?
Founded in 2006, Catapult has become a global company providing performance monitoring data and video analytics for a variety of sports. Some of the big-name clients they advertise on their website include the Kansas City Chiefs, Golden State Warriors, Duke University, UW, and numerous European soccer clubs such as Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City. will appear.
Catapult doesn’t say how many college football programs use its service, but it is known to be widely popular. The big advantage is that players can watch all practice videos on their own time.
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“When I want to relax and recover at home, I watch film and do 30 or 45 minutes at a time,” said JC Latham, an offensive tackle at the University of Alabama.
Currently, both Michigan and Alabama appear to be reviewing movies in their buildings rather than sending them to iPads so they are not stored on servers and potentially hacked.
Why is everyone so paranoid?
Well, college coaches are paranoid about secrets being leaked, and concerns about espionage have grown over the years.
In fact, there was an important 2016 ESPN All Access article detailing that several apartment complexes near the University of Alabama’s campus had balconies overlooking the practice field. In fact, one of the complexes had written in the rental agreement that those who rented certain apartments were not allowed to watch practice outdoors.
That’s why some coaches take the threat of opposing teams spying on their practices seriously. It’s not just a college football issue. Recently, USA TODAY Sports talked about the long history of cheating in the sport, focusing on college basketball, and coaches who were worried that shootarounds at street venues were being watched by secret cameras. This article was published as part of a series.
Of course, Michigan’s sign-stealing scandal only heightened those suspicions, especially when it comes to Michigan State. Connor Stallions has not been part of the program since the allegations first became public in October, but it makes sense for Alabama to take every precaution.
It’s worth noting that unsubstantiated rumors about hacking to obtain information, directed at the University of Michigan as well as several other programs, have been circulating in the college football world and on Internet message boards in recent weeks. Worth it.
It’s unclear if there’s any reason for that or if everyone is being overly cautious based on the insinuations. It’s also worth noting that Catapult says there is no evidence of a data breach in its systems. We’ll have to wait and see what local authorities and the NCAA ultimately find in their investigation.
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Is this something important?
A good old spy scandal always gets people excited, but the reality is this has no effect on the Rose Bowl or any other postseason game. Privacy has always been a top priority for college football teams, and it’s important for Alabama players to be honest when asked by reporters if they had prepared differently because of the Michigan sign. If so, no one would have known about this drama. Theft scandal.
However, this highlights that if you put sensitive information such as game plans or practice film on your server, it can be compromised through illegal means such as hacking or someone sharing your password. , is that the team needs to be careful.
Keep in mind that right now, even during this time, players are constantly coming in and out of programs due to the transfer portal.