How UAB Football Used KINEXON to Peak at the Right Time
To most college football fans, UAB’s upset win over No. 12 BYU was one of the more surprising outcomes of the 2021-2022 bowl season. Despite UAB’s 8-4 record and strong finish to its conference slate, it entered the Independence Bowl as a touchdown underdog.
One possibly overlooked advantage that UAB had entering the matchup was the Blazers’ edge in data and analytics. UAB Director of Athletic Performance for Football, Lyle Henley, spearheaded the implementation of KINEXON’s industry-leading player tracking technology – a technology that currently dominates the basketball market but is just scratching the surface in college and professional football.
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Henley’s goal was to take the Blazers’ performance to the next level by creating a training program that would empower his student-athletes to perform at the highest level when it mattered the most.
All season, UAB had accumulated valuable data points on player speed, acceleration / deceleration, miles per hour, and much more to make more informed real time training decisions. These loads proved to be invaluable to Coach Henley and the rest of the staff when it came to ensuring its student-athletes were performing at their best in the most crucial moments of the season.
With the Blazers down 28-24 in the fourth quarter of the Independence Bowl, Quarterback Dylan Hopkins threw a 14-yard touchdown strike to Wide Receiver Trea Shropshire on 4th down and 7, who created separation on the BYU defensive back, to retake the lead. The 15-play drive, taking more than eight minutes off the clock, was the defining moment in the Blazers’ season. UAB’s defense forced a turnover on the following BYU possession, and its offense was then able to run out the clock. UAB did what its staff set out to do before the season: Perform at the highest level when it mattered the most.
With help from KINEXON, the Blazers peaked at the right time and earned its highest-ranked win in program history.
“For a football program, if you want to play at the highest level, being able to peak at the right time, being able to have as many guys available as possible, then it is a must-have - definitely a must-have.” – Lyle Henley, UAB Director of Athletic Performance for Football
To watch the full case study video featuring UAB’s implementation of KINEXON’s performance technology, click here.
To contact KINEXON about its next level football technology, click here.
