NCAA investigates Catapult college football data breach
January 2, 2024 / Athletic Administration • Football
The NCAA announced on Friday—just days ahead of its College Football Playoff—that they are investigating a suspected data breach at the sports performance analytics company, Catapult.
This came to light during a press conference with Alabama players telling reporters they were instructed by coaches not to watch film on their iPads ahead of their Rose Bowl matchup with the University of Michigan. Wolverine players also told the press that they haven’t been watching film on their iPads since November. Instead, they’ve been watching film in-house.
A recent story from Audacy.com details the data breach and the reaction from teams. Below is an excerpt from the Audacy.com story.
According to its website, the Australian-based company says its software provides “comprehensive video & data analysis solutions for football teams. Capture, analyze, & share every aspect of performance.”
The company works with more than 3,800 teams in over 40 sports, including the NFL, EPL, MLB, NHL, AFL, and NCAA. The University of Michigan, Alabama, Georgia, Notre Dame and Clemson are all listed as college teams that utilize its services.
In a statement to USA Today, Catapult said they are aware of the NCAA’s investigation and launched on their own — which turned up empty-handed.
“We have conducted an internal investigation and have not found any security breach in our systems,” the company said. “We have shared this with local authorities that are conducting an investigation. We will continue to support the ongoing investigation with the NCAA and local authorities. At Catapult, we hold ourselves to the highest of standards and safeguarding customer information is of utmost importance to us.”
The NCAA investigation was announced not long after Alabama said it would not allow its players to take iPads home to look at film.
Alabama receiver Isaiah Bond told reporters via the Tuscaloosa News that he wasn’t sure why the program made that decision but appeared to elude to the Wolverines’ sign-stealing scandal.
“We were able to watch film as a team, but like personally we can’t watch film because I don’t know, some reason Michigan stealing signs,” Bond said. “Our coaches told us that probably like a week ago, right before we left to come here.”