The past two years have been years of historic firsts for the athletic department at William Woods University (WWU). Today, the University announced the latest development, a new partnership with PlaySight Sports that will revolutionize sports technology for Owls fans and coaches.
PlaySight Sports is a connected camera and artificial intelligence sports technology company based in Israel that provides a smart sports video platform for over 25 sports in 20 countries, including four NBA teams and more than 70 collegiate partners in the Southeast Conference, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, and NCAA Divisions II and III. William Woods will become the first National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) university to partner with PlaySight Sports, using cutting-edge technology to serve its Men’s and Women’s Tennis teams.
“A dynamic, growing athletic program is one of the most important ways we enhance the college experience of our students outside of the classroom,” said Dr. Jeremy Moreland, President of William Woods. “Becoming the first NAIA university in the nation to partner with PlaySight Sports and its cutting-edge sports technology continues that exciting trend.”
Last month, The Woods made the historic announcement that it was adding tackle and women’s flag football to its stable of intercollegiate sports offerings, the first time the University has offered the sport in its 153 years of existence. In all, The Woods has added seven new intercollegiate sports since January 2022.
Playsight Sports will allow anyone to watch WWU Tennis from anywhere in the world in high definition, at www.wwuowls.com. In addition to watching matches, an on-screen scoreboard will provide tracking information for each contest if a viewer wants to switch between matches during multi-match competition. Video from tennis matches will now be added to the bank of highlights throughout the academic year, using in-game footage to promote future matches on social media.
And then there are the coaching and training advantages to the new technology. While streaming video of matches was the first priority of entering into this partnership, the cameras will also serve as an incredible training aid for WWU coaches. Head Tennis Coach Chance Joost will be able to break down film with each individual student-athlete, from each practice, and William Woods student-athletes will be able to access this information from any device be it phone, tablet or computer.
“Partnering with PlaySight Sports will put William Woods Athletics and our Owl tennis program in elite company, as the best in the game at the collegiate level are using this technology,” said Steve Wilson, WWU Director of Athletics. “Next year, William Woods will be the only NAIA program regularly featured on the PlaySight Sports Network. We are opening up our tennis program to its great fans around the world, including the families of our international student-athletes, to real-time viewing opportunities as opposed to the text updates of previous years.”
“Adding PlaySight to our facility here at The Woods will allow our parents to watch their student-athlete compete from anywhere in the world,” said Chance Joost, Head Men’s and Women’s Tennis coach at WWU. “It also gives us unprecedented ability to record and review film of practices and matches. This is huge in our ambition of continuing to win conference championships as well as working towards our ultimate goal of a National Championship. Go Owls!”
About PlaySight Sports PlaySight has emerged as a leader in the sports technology marketplace, bringing the most advanced and elite capabilities to all levels of sport, all over the world: automated production and live streaming, video replay (VAR), pro-level coaching tools, and a live and on-demand sports OTT channel – the PlaySight Sports Network (PSSN). PlaySight SmartCourt AI technology powers athletes, coaches, teams and leagues worldwide with its connected camera platform. Its technology is used in a variety of sports, including tennis, pickleball, Padel, basketball, baseball, hockey and others.
