THE UF ATHLETICS DATABANK

A Data-Rich Environment

Collegiate athletics generates an extraordinary volume of data every day.

Across 20+ varsity teams and hundreds of student-athletes, this creates one of the most information-dense high-performance environments in sport.

The opportunity is not a lack of data. It is what we do with it.

Why Scale Hasn’t Translated to Research

Despite this scale, applied research in collegiate sport environments remains limited.

• Less than 5% of sport science research is conducted in real-world, collegiate athletic environments. (Abt et al., 2020; Claudino et al., 2019)
• Over 80% of NCAA athletic departments collect performance and wellness data, but much of it is under-analyzed, under-utilized, or remains siloed. (Luczak et al., 2020)
• Fewer than 1 in 10 studies on athlete monitoring involve integrated data from health, academic, and performance domains. (Luczak et al., 2020)
• Sample sizes are often underpowered: 50% of published sport science studies lack the statistical power to detect meaningful effects. (Abt et al., 2020)
• Data fragmentation is cited as a primary barrier to advancing injury prevention and performance optimization in elite sport. (Passfield & Hopker, 2017; Zadeh et al., 2020)

Significant barriers can exist when conducting research with student-athletes. Obtaining individual consent can be logistically complex, and navigating athletic department protocols can pose challenges, as these departments are often inundated with requests and have limited bandwidth to support external research.

Addressing these challenges requires infrastructure. 

Introducing the UF Athletics Databank

The UF Athletics Databank is a centralized, IRB-approved system that consolidates performance, health, and academic data across UF Athletics within a secure, governed infrastructure. By structuring and managing these data longitudinally, the databank creates a scalable foundation for advanced analytics and artificial intelligence research in real-world collegiate sport settings, while also supporting informed decision-making and athlete performance operations across Gator Athletics.

With integrated, longitudinal data, new questions become possible.

• Researchers can examine workload trends across seasons rather than isolated sessions.
• Machine learning models can be trained on real-world datasets rather than simulated or convenience samples.
• Performance staff can integrate GPS, force plate, and other monitoring systems in a unified environment for clearer interpretation.

Research in collegiate sport settings highlights significant needs.

• Student-athletes miss an average of 1–3 weeks of sport per injury. (Seshadri et al., 2020)
• Coaching and performance staff are often required to function as data analysts and privacy gatekeepers without adequate infrastructure. (Brewer et al., 2025)

The UF Athletics Databank is built to change that – turning integrated data into impact across research, athletics, and education.

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