Chris Sabato, Director of Athletic Communications at Willamette University, has been named a recipient of the 2024-25 College Sports Communicators (CSC) ChangeMaker Innovation Award. He shares this distinction with athletic communications staff and colleagues from the University of South Florida (USF). This prestigious award recognizes individuals and departments for their groundbreaking work in sports content and communication.
Sabato was specifically honored for developing and implementing his "Automated Play-By-Play Spotting Charts." This innovative system utilizes custom-built Python scripts to extract data directly from the official NCAA statistics database. The raw data is then seamlessly organized within a Google Sheet, creating a dynamically updated spotting chart for live sports broadcasts.
"This automated spotting chart generation system represents a significant leap forward in efficiency, accuracy, and preparedness for live sports broadcasting," Sabato explained in his award entry. "The entire process, from initial data retrieval to the generation of a finalized, broadcast-ready chart, is completed in under 10 minutes."
The importance of Sabato's innovation is multifaceted: Traditionally, manually creating spotting charts can take hours of research and data compilation. Sabato's automated system drastically reduces this time investment to less than 10 minutes, freeing up valuable time for athletic communicators and broadcasters to focus on other essential responsibilities. By directly linking to the NCAA Stats Database, the system guarantees the accuracy and reliability of the information, eliminating human error associated with manual data entry. Furthermore, the use of Python scripts and Google Sheets provides a flexible and scalable framework that can be adapted for various sports and evolving data needs.
Sabato's "Automated Play-By-Play Spotting Charts" empower broadcast teams to be fully prepared for live broadcasts with minimal pre-game effort, directly addressing the challenge of balancing pre-game research with other essential duties for athletic communications professionals. USF's winning entry focused on their "WLAX 101: Growing the Game" messaging and social media campaign, developed by their communications and creative staff in collaboration with the Bulls' lacrosse coaching staff.
CSC ChangeMaker Innovation Entry
CSC ChangeMaker Innovation Award Submission
