By Rob Schaefer
06.10.2026

Scott Harniman, the UFL’s SVP/media and innovation, describes the spring football league as an “incubator of technology.”

And what is any tech incubator without a demo day?

That’s essentially what the UFL plans to put on Saturday afternoon in Washington, D.C., during its 2026 championship game — the United Bowl — at Audi Field. This is the UFL’s third season-capping tech showcase since the league launched (in its latest form) in 2024, and it is expecting more than 40 attendees, from league partners to influencers, to take in demonstrations from several of the league’s tech vendors.

“The goal is showing what we can from an innovation standpoint, a technology standpoint,” Harniman told SBJ ahead of the event. “We look forward to it every year.”

Run of show

One change from last year’s showcase is a move from a high-up suite in the venue to one on the field level. The aim is to give attendees a more intimate view of the action, and it could create a unique perspective on demos from companies such as tracking data firm Sportable, which will stream a data-rich alternate feed of the game as it happens using real-time information derived from sensors in the football and on players’ pads.

The suite will also include displays from ESPN (a monitor showing its “Skycast” alt-cast of the game), wearable camera company Povora and playback software DVSport (a station for viewing replay angles that UFL officials use to adjudicate challenges).

FAST takeaways

This is also the second year of the UFL’s FAST (Football Advancement Through Sports Technology) program for testing and launching new innovations.

Year 1 produced the UFL’s ongoing partnership with Sportable. But even when the program doesn’t lead to a longer-term relationship — such as with Mindfly, whose BodyCam product was used on players’ chest plates and shoulder pads last season — there are learnings.

“There were challenges — and, really, not all on their side,” Harniman said of Mindfly. “The physicality of the game and wearing a camera on the chest, it was really hard. ... But we also saw, when we did capture [video], that in-game speed — the audio, the video of collisions — it was so dramatic that wanted to continue.”

So, the UFL pivoted to Povora, which deployed its “CapCam” during the 2026 season on UFL referees and, in a first for the company, even a coach — the Orlando Storm’s Anthony Becht. Povora on Saturday will also debut a new body camera, worn by a member of the chain crew, that automatically pans side-to-side based on the head motion of the person wearing it, powered by a wireless connection to an IMU earpiece.

“We were right in the heart of the action when Anthony was talking to his guys, which is a really unique perspective we were excited to see [on broadcast],” said Povora co-founder and CCO Nathan Horrocks. “We’re also looking at how we can go forward with that. Who else can we use the camera on?”

The UFL’s 2026 FAST class also includes EA Sports, Riddell, The 33rd Team and AI audio firm Vokol, demonstrating the league’s openness to technologies both established and startup.

Co-founder and Head of Growth Chris Shreeve said Vokol generated hundreds of bite-sized, AI-generated podcast episodes for the UFL during the season, predominately based on the league’s editorial coverage. These clips canvassed league/team news and “know before you go” FAQs for fans attending games, with the latter driving a better than 40% click-through rate to additional content, according to Shreeve.

“It’s been as good of a relationship as we possibly could have asked for, and I think it all stems from the top-down mandate they [the UFL] have to innovate,” he said. “They’ve gone above and beyond to try to do something different.”

By: Colin Bradley

This college football season, ESPN, ACC Network and the ACC are partnering on a groundbreaking collaboration to bring unprecedented transparency in college football to instant replay reviews during select presentations of ACC football games. ESPN and the ACC had already been showing a live look at the ACC Game Day Operations Center the past few seasons, but following the successful inclusion of audio with ESPN’s UFL replay review production, there was opportunity to take this initiative with the ACC to the next level.
The new feature, in which audiences hear the real-time discussions among the Referee, the instant replay official in the stadium and the ACC’s Collaborative Instant Replay Official, debuted on August 30 during the ACC Network Primetime Football game. The access has continued throughout the season on ESPN and ACCN to rave reviews from the public, including during the September 13 showdown between Clemson and Georgia Tech.
ESPN Front Row spoke with Bryan Jaroch, Vice President of Sports Production, about the new initiative.
How did the idea to utilize this access in college football come about?
“Every spring, we meet with all the conferences to review the previous season and look for ways to improve for the upcoming season. During those spring meetings, we shared clips from the UFL and other sports showcasing next-level access. To their credit, the ACC was willing to try something new. Last season, they allowed Matt Austin, our Rules Analyst, to listen into the conversations between the referee, replay official and the ACC Game Day Operations Center. It was a good experiment, but we asked the ACC if we could use this audio on-the-air instead, and once again they were willing to innovate. Our experience with the UFL Replay Command Center was extremely helpful in developing the strategy for the ACC Game Day Operations Center workflow from a technical, audio and on-air presentation standpoint.”
Having seen success with this on UFL and CFB, do you foresee ESPN implementing this process with other conferences, leagues or sports?
“We are actively working with other conferences to expand this process. It will take time, but we’ll continue those conversations and in a perfect world, we’ll have this workflow on more games across various conferences.”
What has seeing the reaction of the fans and both internal/external stakeholders been like for you and your team?
“We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished so far, but there’s no end to better. It has been a collaborative effort with the ACC, our ESPN production crews and announcers. We are excited to continuously find new ways to better our product for college football fans.”

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – The Atlantic Coast Conference, ESPN and ACC Network are partnering this season on a groundbreaking collaboration to bring unprecedented transparency to instant replay reviews during select broadcasts of ACC football games.
 
For the 2025 season, audiences watching ACC officiated matchups on Friday night on either ESPN/ESPN2 and ACC Network’s primetime Saturday games will hear the real-time discussions among the Referee, instant replay official in the stadium, and the ACC’s Collaborative Instant Replay Official located in the ACC’s Game Day Operations Center in Uptown Charlotte.
 
While the ACC began sharing Game Day Operations Center video with ESPN in 2023, sharing audio of the replay discussions represents a significant next step in transparency. Last season, the ACC conducted a limited trial, allowing ESPN officiating analyst Matt Austin to listen to replay conversations for the first time during a November 21 Thursday night game between NC State and Georgia Tech.
 
“We are proud to build upon our efforts to bring additional transparency surrounding ACC Football officiating to fans throughout the entire season,” said ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, Ph.D. “We appreciate the partnership with ESPN and ACC Network to elevate the viewer experience and implement what’s never been done before in college football.”
 
This first-of-its-kind initiative is designed to modernize and elevate the college football viewing experience and aims to enhance transparency and fan engagement and interest.
 

By Genius Sports Press

DVSport, Inc. (“DVSport”), a software company specializing in digital video acquisition, analysis and playback software, has struck a new commercial partnership with Genius Sports Limited (“Genius Sports”) to power their instant replay and coaching tools with live college sports data.

DVSport’s officiating replay solutions have been used in over 10,000 collegiate football games and 15,000 collegiate basketball games to support officiating decisions with broadcast-quality video. Genius Sport’s official data feeds will streamline the workflows behind DVSport’s officiating technology, instantly identifying key plays that need to be reviewed and automatically pairing it with simultaneous multi-angle video clips.

Conference partners of DVSport will further benefit from this new partnership with Genius Sports, using official play-by-play data and integrated video to streamline how they evaluate officials’ performance post-game across all available sports.

Genius Sports is the exclusive distributor of official NCAA data, the fastest, most accurate and richest data source on college sports. It is captured by NCAA LiveStats, the official tool for the collection, management and distribution of game statistics, that is used across more than 65,000 games a year for NCAA basketball, football, ice hockey, volleyball and soccer.

This partnership will also enhance DVSport’s tech on the bench coaching tools, combining official data and statistics with live and preloaded video to help teams analyze every play.

“Enhancing in-game and post-game video with the official data provided by Genius Sports will benefit all stakeholders immensely,” said Brian Lowe, President and CEO of DVSport.  “From in-game DVSport Replay to Rewind bench video solutions for the players and coaches, to the officials’ breakdown of the game after it is over, DVSport’s partnership with Genius Sports is a great step forward across all sports.”

“Together, high quality data and video can power outstanding solutions for officials, coaches, fans, broadcasters and much more,” said Matthew Cowling, EVP, Sport & Partnerships of Genius Sports. “We’re excited to partner with DVSport, enhancing their proven officiating and coaching solutions with the highest quality data across the entire college sports calendar.”

Post courtesy of elon.edu

Twelve students are enrolled in the new Elon in Charlotte Regional Center this fall, participating in the university’s sport management immersive semester and gaining real-world experience with the Atlantic Coast Conference, NASCAR, Fox Sports and other Charlotte-based organizations. Continue reading... 

Al Riveron is gliding. Well, bouncing. No, levitating. All three, really. He’s moving — fast.

The mid-afternoon college football slate on Saturday, Sept. 9, is starting. Riveron, the longtime NFL official who was named the ACC’s supervisor of football officials in November, is breaking in his new digs inside the league’s brand-spanking-new Game Day Operations Center (GDOC).  Continue reading...

Rob Washburn - Courtesy of caasports.com

RICHMOND, Va. (August 24, 2023) – With the goal of improving the gameday experience for fans, coaches and student-athletes, CAA Football will add a visible television timeout countdown clock and a sideline replay monitor during the 2023 season.

CAA Football will be one of the first conferences at the FCS level to use both products.

“The addition of a visible timeout countdown clock and replay sideline monitors at each CAA Football stadium are further examples of the Conference’s continued commitment to provide our fans, coaches and student-athletes with the best possible gameday experience, and to ensure that the CAA is utilizing the most up-to-date technology in each of its games,” CAA Commissioner Joe D’Antonio said. “We are excited to implement both of these additions for the 2023 season.”

The on-field countdown clock provides fans the opportunity to know when a game will resume after a television timeout. The digital clock, which is operated by the television timeout coordinator during commercial breaks, also lets game officials, coaches and student-athletes know exactly how much time is left before they need to be back on the field. When the clock strikes zero, the game officials will mark the ball ready for play.

The sideline monitor will greatly enhance the conference’s instant replay process. The game official can see exactly what the replay official in the press box is watching, which will lead to improved discussion and collaboration on calls. The monitor will allow officials to better communicate replay decisions with head coaches and will aid in the referee’s ability to explain calls to fans.

While the referee can provide input about the ruling on the field during the replay process, the final decision to confirm or overturn a call will still be made by the replay official.

The television timeout countdown clocks were supplied by Victory Game Clocks, while the sideline replay monitor is an addition to the DVSport instant replay technology that the CAA has used for nearly a decade.

“DVSport continues its strong replay technology partnership with the CAA with the addition of new replay sideline monitors this season,” said Keith Lowe, Chief Strategic Officer for DVSport. “The sideline monitor creates a collaborative and transparent workflow between the on-field referee and the replay official in the booth. The detailed replay review announcements will also be a benefit to fans, broadcasters and teams.”

“Eight FBS conferences and three FCS conferences, including the CAA, are using our TV timeout countdown clocks at each of their member institutions’ football stadiums,” said Frank Hiett, Director of Sales at Victory Game Clocks. “It has changed the way everyone in the stadium views timeouts. Knowing the exact time remaining during a timeout not only benefits the fans, it allows coaches, event staff, press box media and spirit groups to stay on point during a timeout so play can resume.”

Story courtesy of panthers.com 

By: Augusta Stone

CHARLOTTE – The Panthers' first-team offense finished a set of plays in Wednesday's team practice period and took a break while the scout team worked against the starting defense in the next sequence.

On cue, assistant head coach Jeff Nixon and Carolina's three running backs jogged to the TV monitors underneath a tent on the sideline. They reviewed plays, asked questions, and talked strategy before running to the practice field for another set of plays.

When the offense traded off with the defense again, Nixon and the trio trotted back to the tent. It's been routine throughout the season.

And based on recent results, it looks like they're seeing things more clearly on game day.

​

"I just think it's good to get some extra time," Nixon said. "Any time you get extra time to watch film, especially when they just performed the rep, I think it really resonates with them. And they remember exactly what they did right or exactly what they did wrong right away."

D'Onta Foreman, Chuba Hubbard, and Raheem Blackshear take instant looks to see if they're making correct reads on run plays in practice. Nixon said they look for tracks and aim for landmarks – for example, running toward the outside leg of a guard – while keeping a look on their eyes and field vision. It's all about details and fundamentals, and having immediate feedback is helpful.

"We try to be real detailed with that," Nixon said. "(It) makes a difference on if it's going to be a successful play or not, depending on their general fundamentals for each run."

Foreman said reviewing tape on the sideline has helped him make the most of his practice reps. Once he goes back in for another set of plays, Foreman can apply what he saw immediately to his next reps.

"You can see what went wrong or what went good immediately; you don't have to wait until we go to the meeting (later in the afternoon)," Foreman said. "Once we go back on offense, you learn from that immediately. It's been pretty good. I enjoy it."

Something is working right in Carolina, as Foreman and Hubbard each put up career-best yardage totals (165 for Foreman, 125 for Hubbard) with seven runs of at least 21 yards split between the two of them in last week's win over Detroit. The Panthers put up a franchise-high 320 rushing yards against the Lions.

Since interim head coach Steve Wilks took over in Week 6, the Panthers are averaging 151.6 yards per game on the ground, and are up to 10th in the league in rushing yardage as they've made it the centerpiece of their physical persona. For reference, the league average is 120.9 per game, and the number under Wilks would rank third in the league for the entire year. But running like that takes more than attitude. It takes detailed work.

It also takes plenty of technology, and the people to make it happen in an outdoor setting away from the comforts (and nearby electrical outlets and convenient wifi connections) of a meeting room.

The outdoor setup includes one television, a computer, and five tablets that show two camera views of each play (one from the sideline and one from the end zone). The five-person football video team helps set it all up for each practice, which takes about 15 minutes daily.

The cameras report back to a central hub, which uses DVSport 360 Rewind software. The equipment takes about 10-15 minutes to break down at the end of each practice. But for the help it provides for the backfield, it's time well spent.

Beyond the IT and video assistance, there's plenty of other people making those lanes for the backs to see clearly.

Nixon gave plenty of credit to the Panthers' dominant offensive line, which held off the Lions' defensive front and cleared the way for Carolina's backs to get downfield.

"We've made some good reads, broke some tackles," Nixon said. "But I really credit the line for opening up some really, really good holes and coming off the ball, giving us a chance to get to the second and third level."

The running backs also review their plays in pass protection while they're under the tent. Nixon said they look to see if they're receiving calls from quarterback Sam Darnold or center Bradley Bozeman and ensure they make their blocking assignments.

Nixon says he has seen improvement in every area throughout the year, and it's a testament to the progression of the season, more game reps, and reviewing the tape.

"It's improved drastically since the beginning of the season," Nixon said. "I think the more and more guys are getting reps and getting their opportunity to play in games, they're making the most of it and just becoming more comfortable with everything we're doing – run-game wise, in pass protection, and catching the ball out of the backfield."

Blackshear, a rookie, said watching tape on the field between reps at practice was new to him when he got to Carolina, and five-year veteran Foreman hadn't instantly reviewed his film on the practice field either, in previous stops in Houston and Tennessee.

But it'd be safe to say reviewing the tape is helping set a good tone for the Panthers' run game, where Carolina has found a consistent key in critical wins.

"I think it's definitely been helping," Foreman said. "I take pride in (that) because I know if something didn't go right, I can say, 'All right, well, I'm going to go watch it in a second.'"

For the first time in NCAA Men’s Basketball, teams are experimenting with in-game sideline technology. 
 
DVSport is providing its Rewind technology to the teams participating in this’s years NIT tournament.  Each team is allowed to use one device in the bench area, that is feed with live video from the DVSport Replay solution that is used to provide the official’s instant replay.  The tablets can be used for live stats or video but can not be used by a coach to dispute a call on the floor.
 
This in-game technology is currently being used at the professional level in the NBA, at the collegiate level in men’s and women’s lacrosse and at the high school level in football and basketball.  It is also used during practices across the NFL, college football, NCAA basketball, baseball, softball and hockey.
 
DVSport Rewind has changed the way coaches, players and staff prepare at practices and games. No reason to wait when you can make immediate adjustments with DVSport’s live portable video solution. Rewind provides immediate access to video that allows feedback to aid coaching, evaluation and player injury assessment.
 
Features include:

• Simple thumbnail based interface that allows quick and easy access to plays and video, navigate video via simple swipe gestures, on screen controls or Rocket Remote.
• Bookmarked plays can be viewed on any tablet, also video can be viewed on the device in a small group setting or projected to a flat panel or on a stadium video board.
• Watch using unattended loop feature - plays the last play on a loop until the next play is available or under full control of the coach/player/medical staff - any drill - any play.
• Use telestration, zoom and bookmarking to efficiently make coaching adjustments.
• Quick, simple set-up, automated in game/practice workflow that minimizes impact on support staff.

 
For more information on DVSport Rewind or any of our other products please contact us at [email protected] or 412-788-9070.