The NCAA announced today that it has engaged Signify Group to provide the Threat Matrix AI service to support the league in examining and responding to online abuse and threats directed at NCAA Tournament participants including student-athletes, coaches, officials and committee members. This unique initiative aims to promote the mental health and well-being of the college’s athletic community through data collection and analytics.
The service will launch this month with a particular focus on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Tik Tok. The Threat Matrix project will provide various capabilities and deliverables as part of the pilot during the 2023-24 NCAA Tournament, including:
- Monitor, detect and analyze levels of abuse and threats in more than 35 languages in addition to images and emojis.
- Analysis of abuse related to sports betting.
- Reporting procedures to notify key stakeholders, including individuals, participating teams, local organizers, law enforcement and social media platforms.
- Direct coordination with social media platforms to report violations and encourage content removal and other appropriate penalties for account holders.
- Providing data to support the Association’s understanding of the scale and nature of online abuse and threats in college sports, as well as informing future educational and policy developments.
Data from the initial set of tournaments covered by the service will be used as a benchmark for monitoring efforts at future NCAA tournaments.
Online abuse and threats are very common in sport. Signify has extensive experience working across a range of sports and at different levels, from club level, player associations and federations to major international tournaments.
Furthermore, with the growth of sports betting in the United States in recent years, there have been numerous instances in which college sports representatives have received targeted abuse and threats. A recent NCAA survey of campus administrators found that 10% of DI respondents said they were aware of student-athletes being harassed online or in person by someone with gambling interests. This project will represent the largest study in North America on this growing phenomenon, and will help the association detect, analyze and investigate such abuses. The data collected will provide a greater understanding of the issues and help the association improve its policies in an effort to deter abuse and threats in college sports.
Speaking about the launch of the NCAA Threat Matrix service, NCAA President Charlie Baker He said:
“Engaging Signify to monitor NCAA tournaments reflects our steadfast commitment to the safety and well-being of college athletes. This is the first project of its kind in college sports focused on online abuse and threats, while arming social platforms and law enforcement to take aggressive action.” . “A measure to protect thousands of student-athletes and all tournament participants. This pilot is just the beginning of much broader online protections the NCAA will put in place to guide our long-term strategy in this critical area.”
Jonathan Hirshler, CEO of Signify Group He added:
“We are thrilled to be working with the NCAA on this very exciting and groundbreaking initiative to advance online safety for college athletes and those involved in the broader college sports ecosystem. Over the coming months, I am confident that we will not only discover deeper insights into online abuse and threat in college sports, but also helps drive real work in this area in partnership with the NCAA, platforms and law enforcement agencies.”
About Signify Group
Founded in 2017, Signify is an ethical data science and AI company that uses open source data to better understand what fans, consumers, and audiences care about. Her work spans the fields of sport, the private sector and NGOs, providing insights that help organizations communicate more effectively with the people who matter most to them.
Threat Matrix, which uses artificial intelligence and open source forensic techniques, was launched in 2020 to protect individuals from online abuse. The service has grown and diversified, gaining significant interest in the sports sector. It is used by clubs, leagues, players’ associations, federations and organizers of global sporting events to protect athletes and other stakeholders, as well as being used for investigations and intelligence support.
www.signify.ai
http://www.threatmatrix.ai/
About NCAA
The NCAA is a diverse association of more than 1,100 member colleges and universities that prioritizes academics, wellness and equity to create greater opportunities for more than half a million student-athletes each year. The NCAA provides a path to higher education and beyond for student-athletes seeking to achieve academic goals and compete in NCAA sports. More than 54,000 student-athletes experience the pinnacle of intercollegiate athletics by competing in the NCAA Championships each year. Visit www.ncaa.org and www.ncaa.com for more details about the association.
The NCAA has taken a proactive step in addressing the issue of online abuse within college sports by launching a groundbreaking initiative aimed at studying and understanding this growing problem. As the use of social media and online platforms continues to rise, so does the prevalence of online abuse directed at athletes, coaches, and teams. This initiative aims to explore the impact of online abuse on the mental health and well-being of those involved in college sports, and to develop strategies for creating a safer and more positive online environment for all involved. Through this initiative, the NCAA is demonstrating its commitment to supporting the mental and emotional health of student-athletes and fostering a culture of respect and inclusion within college sports.