Heisman Trophy Partners with Carnegie Mellon to Enhance College Football Analytics
In an effort to bring a fresh perspective to evaluating college football talent, the prestigious Heisman Trophy has forged a new collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University and its Sports Analytics Center (CMSAC). This partnership aims to revolutionize how player performances are assessed by providing fans with advanced metrics and analytical tools, particularly for positions that have historically been difficult to quantify. The initiative seeks to illuminate the stories of all athletes on the field, not just those in traditionally spotlighted roles.
Jeff Price, CEO of the Heisman, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership, stating, “Our partnership with Carnegie Mellon Sports Analytics Center will help us tell a more complete story of excellence by shining a light on outstanding performances wherever they happen on the field.” By merging the Heisman’s storied history with CMSAC’s cutting-edge analytics, the collaboration aims to enrich fan engagement in the Heisman race, known as college football’s most esteemed award.
Over the next three years, CMU’s team of statisticians and data scientists will work alongside the Heisman team to integrate relevant sports analytics into the award’s evaluation process. The collaboration also seeks to enhance the fan experience by ensuring they have a meaningful role in the award process throughout the season.
Since 1999, the Heisman has included one fan vote in its final tally. Building upon this, CMSAC is redesigning the fan voting model to emphasize performances later in the year, acknowledging the critical nature of sustained excellence during pivotal conference races and rivalry games.
Ron Yurko, director of CMSAC and assistant teaching professor at CMU’s Department of Statistics & Data Science, noted, “Using historical college football data, we’re creating a methodology to dynamically weight fan votes based on data observed throughout the season.” The new model will allow fans to vote daily, with CMSAC’s data-driven approach determining the influence of those votes weekly.
In addition, the collaboration will expand the use of advanced analytics in the Heisman Hopefuls platform, leveraging the innovative strategies CMSAC employed during the 2026 NFL Draft. In that initiative, CMSAC collaborated with the NFL to analyze draft picks using Madden ratings and provided fans with accessible insights through the NFL IQ AI chatbot.
Price highlighted the importance of analytics, stating, “As we begin to integrate stats and analytics into the Heisman Hopeful narrative, the Carnegie Mellon Sports Analytics Center is clearly the leader in the field.” The Heisman Hopefuls platform is designed to celebrate outstanding college football players nationwide and reflect their excellence across all positions.
Yurko added, “The Heisman represents the peak of college football, and I’m beyond excited for CMSAC to bring our sports analytics expertise to the Heisman Hopefuls platform across multiple facets.” The collaboration aims to better represent the diverse talents and achievements of all Heisman candidates.
Fans and analysts can look forward to the unveiling of the revamped Heisman Hopefuls experience on August 15 at Heisman.com.
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