Zebra Technologies Highlights NFL Partnership Post-Inaugural 2014 Football Season

BOSTON, Feb. 26, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: ZBRA), a global leader in products and solutions that provide real-time visibility into organizations' assets, people and transactions, today announced its participation in the 2015 MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference Feb. 27-28, 2015 at the Boston Conference & Exhibition Center in Boston.

The Zebra Sports solution enables leagues and teams to gain real-time insight into the action happening on the field of play, providing precise location and motion performance data. As previously announced, Zebra now equips NFL teams with sensors in the shoulder pads of players to collect data used by coaches, broadcasters and fans.  Zebra provides this same enterprise asset intelligence and operational visibility to customers in the retail, manufacturing, transportation & logistics and healthcare industries, helping them make more informed business decisions.

Zebra will host a booth in the main corridor of the Convention Center, participate in two panels and host a case competition for teams of graduate students who are attending the conference.

PANEL, SPEAKER AND COMPETITION DETAILS

• Feb. 27 – 11:40am EST: "National Football League: Next Generation Statistics" will explore the NFL's groundbreaking Next Gen Stats initiative including the first-ever, real-time player tracking system in sports powered by Zebra Sports Solutions. Panelists include:
  • Matt Birk - VP, NFL Football Development
  • Marshall Faulk - NFL Network Analyst & NFL Hall of Famer
  • Abe Madkour - Executive Editor, Sports Business Journal
  • Sean Payton - Head Coach, New Orleans Saints
  • Vishal Shah - VP, NFL Media Strategy & Business Development
  •  Jill Stelfox - GM & VP, Zebra Technologies
• Feb. 28 – 9am EST: Eric Petrosinelli, GM Zebra Sports, will participate on the Wearable Technology panel, which will dive deep into the strategy behind teams using wearable technology and player tracking solutions to affect coaching decisions.
• Feb. 28 – 1pm EST: The fifth annual SSAC First Pitch Case Competition is presented by Zebra. Twenty teams of MBA and other graduate students submitted their ideas for how Zebra will continue to build on the NFL's Next Generation Statistics initiative. At the conference, three finalist teams, representing Harvard Business School, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth will present their solutions to a panel of industry and business leaders, and prizes will be awarded to the winners.
• The two-day conference will also feature presentations from top sports industry professionals, owners, coaches, players, writers and analysts offering perspectives on data and analytics technologies and practices.  Some of the noted speakers include:
  • John Brenkus - Host, ESPN Sport Science; Co-Founder, BASE Productions
  • Mark McClusky - Editor, WIRED.com; Author, "Faster, Higher, Stronger"
  • Adam Silver - NBA Commissioner
  • Grant Wahl - Senior Writer, Sports Illustrated

SUPPORTING QUOTES
Jessica Gelman, conference co-founder and vice president of Customer Marketing & Strategy, Kraft Sports Group (New England Patriots, New England Revolution, Gillette Stadium)
"Having Zebra Technologies back this year is very exciting to many of us in the sports industry, especially following its implementation with the NFL this past season. We look forward to hearing what's next for Zebra and its innovative approach to sports statistics and real-time data visualization."

Jill Stelfox, general manager and vice president, Location Solutions, Zebra Technologies
"We are thrilled to participate in the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference again this year. Our work with the NFL is truly an extension of the enterprise asset intelligence we bring to 95% of Fortune 500 companies. Our insights based on this experience serve as the foundation for the real-time analytics that can help shape the future of sports."

SUPPORTING RESOURCES
Website: Zebra MotionWorks™ Sports solution
Facebook: Zebra Technologies
Twitter: @ZebraTechnology
Twitter: @ZebraSports

About the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference 
The goal of the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference is to provide a forum for industry professionals, executives, leading researchers, and students to discuss the increasing role of analytics in the global sports industry. MIT Sloan is dedicated to fostering growth and innovation in this arena, and hopes to enrich opportunities for learning about the use of analytics in sports via the 2015 conference. For more information about the conference please visit www.sloansportsconference.com.

About Zebra MotionWorks™ Sports Solution 
The Zebra MotionWorks™ Sports Solution uses radio frequency identification (RFID) receivers throughout stadiums to read quarter-sized active RFID tags that are placed inside the equipment of each player and register key player data, such as movement, distance and speed. This data is then compiled into a comprehensive database, providing a rich archive of game information, as well as generating real-time broadcast overlays of all the action on the field and real-time visualizations for coaching staffs.

About Zebra Technologies
Zebra (NASDAQ: ZBRA) makes businesses as smart and connected as the world we live in. Zebra tracking and visibility solutions transform the physical to digital, creating the data streams enterprises need to simplify operations, know more about their businesses, and empower their mobile workforces. For more information, visit www.zebra.com/possibilities.

Media Contact:
Therese Van Ryne
Zebra Technologies
+1-847-370-2317 
[email protected]

Industry Analyst Contact:
Carolyn Buerger
Zebra Technologies
+1-224-316-0066 
[email protected]

Zebra Technologies, Zebra and the Zebra logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Zebra Technologies Corporation and are used under license. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. ©2015 Zebra Technologies Corporation. All rights reserved.

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SOURCE Zebra Technologies Corporation

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