BYU’s AI Studies Could Signal a New Era for Football

Artificial Intelligence and Football 

Football is a complex sport with eleven players on the field for each team running complex schemes. When a coach prepares for the game coming up on the weekend, they break down film on the other team to become familiar with the schemes and tendencies of their future opponent. 

What if much of the information from these film sessions could be supplied using AI to analyze it? This would save a lot of time for coaches and players that could be then put to practice on the field. It would give a big advantage and make the game that much better. 

That research is happening right now in Utah. Brigham Young University is studying the ability of AI for just these purposes. The computer can recognize coverages with impressive accuracy and supply that information to the coaches. It can analyze the other team's tendencies and even suggest possible strategies. 

AI Breakdown in Real Time 

What if you could break down the coverage and strategy of your opponent, not a week before, but in real time? What if the coach on the sidelines had access to information from a camera filming the game instantly and analyzed by AI and then given the best play to run? What would that do to the game? 

Football is big business in the United States. Teams are constantly looking for an advantage when it comes to conditioning and better facilities. It doesn’t seem like a stretch to realize that the possibilities of AI would be explored and used. 

Computer Coaches 

This research on AI and football is probably happening at a lot more universities besides BYU. Will there come a day when the computers are running the game? Would that ruin what makes it fun to watch? Will they have to somehow regulate AI in the sport? It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.