ASU athletics seeking next big idea in venture challenge
Expanding on its six-year streak as the nation's most innovative university, Arizona State is in the market for the next big idea in athletics.
Beginning Friday, ASU athletics is launching a venture challenge seeking new sports concepts that can be implemented at Sun Devil facilities.
ASU's Global Sport Institute and J. Orin Edson Entrepreneurship + Innovation Institute will support the winning venture with promotional resources, mentorship, coaching and an award of up to $25,000 per year.
Applications, open to all not just students, will be accepted from Jan. 15March 1. Entries will be evaluated and cut to a top 10-15 with those candidates making a pitch in April to a panel of Sun Devil athletics judges in April during ASU Demo Day.
"The desire would be to look at anything that could benefit Sun Devil athletics as a whole," said Jeff Kunowski, ASU Associate Director of Innovation Programs. "That could be player performance, venue technology, safety-related items in the COVID era thinking through different solutions that could help with disinfection. It could be getting fans back into the stadium or arena.
"It's really pretty broad. We try not cut off too many applicants as long as they're somewhat sport related then from there we narrow the field."
The value for finalists and the ultimate winner includes "basically getting to pitch to subject matter experts within each realm of Sun Devil athletics," Kunowski said. "The other piece of that is being able to beta test your product or service in real time with a Division I athletic program."
A similar venture challenge last year in conjunction with the Phoenix Rising led to an award of $15,000 to Hat-Tac, a hat storage item that Rising judges felt could be used in team stores and promotional giveaways. Hat-Tac since is selling their products with Amazon, Walmart and other retailers.
Ray Anderson, ASU Vice President for Athletics, said in a statement, "As the world's largest university and national hub for innovation, ASU has creative thinkers and industry pioneers across our five campuses, and we would be doing ourselves a disservice to not tap into that potential."
The plan is for the winning venture to be implemented through Sun Devil athletics as soon as the fall. A second application opportunity is planned for January 2022.
Commemorative bricks being installed
ASU has started installing Sun Devil commemorative bricks at the southwest entrance of Sun Devil Stadium through a legacy project launched in fall 2019.
A brick purchase includes a replica brick for home or office display. Proceeds support ASU athletics.