SENIOR FOOTBALL ANALYST

The Senior Football Analyst provides analytical, operational, and strategic support to the football program, with a specific emphasis on Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) education, coordination, and program support that enhances recruitment and retention. This position also assists coaching staff with innovative defensive strategies by film breakdown, opponent analysis, and game-planning support that elevates the football program, while also supporting NIL related initiatives that enhance student athlete brand development, compliance awareness, and engagement opportunities. The Senior Football Analyst collaborates with athletics administration, compliance, marketing, external partners, and student athletes to help advance program objectives, support competitive success, and ensure NIL activities align with institutional policies, conference guidelines, and NCAA regulations. The role supports student athletes through agent selection, contract interpretation, and negotiation education, and develops long term NIL strategies informed by market analytics, industry forecasting, and emerging financial opportunities by designing revenue sharing models and financial development pathways.

Bachelor’s degree in sports management, business, law, finance, data analytics, or a related field.
Three years of experience working in collegiate or professional athletics, athlete representation, sports analytics, compliance or finance preferably in a sports-related setting, or other related field.
Demonstrated experience interpreting and evaluating contracts, agreements, or regulatory documents.
Demonstrated experience in football strategy.
Strong analytical skills with proficiency in football analytics software (e.g., Hudl, XOS, PFF, Catapult).
Excellent organizational, communication, and problem-solving abilities.

Builds and maintains a vetted directory of credible NIL agents, agencies, and collectives, ensuring alignment with university, MAC conference, and NCAA regulations.
Builds relationships with local, regional, and national brands, agencies, and alumni to expand NIL opportunities.
Assists the GM to negotiate terms that align with CMU’s goals, ensuring compliance with NCAA, MAC conference, and federal regulations while maximizing athlete earnings potential.
Communicates with agents on the recruitment status of prospective student-athletes when they enter the transfer portal.
Guides student athletes through the agent selection process by providing education on agent roles, evaluation criteria, and compliance considerations.
Facilitates informational meetings between student-athletes and potential representatives, ensuring transparency and informed decision making.
Reviews NIL contracts to help student-athletes understand key terms, obligations, deliverables, renewal clauses, termination language, and risk factors.
Provides student-athletes with foundational education on negotiation strategies and contract best practices.
Identifies contract inconsistencies, unfair terms, or compliance risks, and escalate issues to university legal counsel when appropriate.
Tracks NIL industry trends, marketplace data, athlete engagement metrics, and earning potential indicators such as potential NIL collectives evolving into investment funds or blockchain-based athlete assets to forecast growth opportunities.
Designs and implements long-term NIL strategies for individual athletes and the program, incorporating revenue-sharing frameworks to ensure financial stability and competitive advantages in recruiting top talent.
Advises on strategies to compete with MAC programs by creating innovative NIL packages to attract high-caliber recruits and transfers.
Tracks NIL program performance through KPIs such as athlete retention rates, deal values, investment returns, market conditions, competitive insight, future NIL landscape shifts; prepare quarterly reports for athletic leadership on progress toward long-term goals.
Develops internal and external communication strategies that promote athlete marketability and program credibility.
Serves as the program’s lead on housing-related benefits; collaborate with local real estate professionals, NIL partners (e.g., programs offering free licensing courses or investment education), and university housing offices to facilitate stable living arrangements during eligibility.
Conducts in-depth research on real estate trends, financial market fluctuations, and college football economics to forecast NIL opportunities; develop models for risk assessment and return on investment (ROI) in NIL-related ventures.
Analyzes defensive trends and tendencies to propose effective defensive adjustments and concepts.
Innovates with modern defensive strategies and situational packages to improve overall unit performance.
Breaks down opponents’ offensive film to identify patterns, strengths, weaknesses, and tendencies.
Supports the recruiting process by evaluating prospects’ defensive potential and fit within the program’s schemes.
Assists in teaching defensive concepts to staff or personnel through video analysis.
Other duties as assigned.

None.

Central Michigan University has a more than 125-year legacy of preparing students to become leaders and changemakers in their communities and in their personal and professional lives.

We serve nearly 15,500 students on our Mount Pleasant campus, in satellite locations around the state and throughout the country, and through flexible online programs. Many of our approximately 300 undergraduate, master’s, specialist and doctoral programs in the arts, media, business, education, human services, health professions, liberal arts, social sciences, medicine, science and engineering are nationally ranked for excellence.

CMU leads the nation in leadership development programming through our Sarah R. Opperman Leadership Institute, and we are proud to be among only 5% of U.S. universities in the top two Carnegie research classifications. Our faculty work with graduate and undergraduate students in areas such as Great Lakes research, medical innovation, engineering technology and more.

Central is home to 17 men’s and women’s Division 1 sports including football, basketball, gymnastics, baseball, wrestling and more. Our student-athletes achieve great success in competition and in the classroom, capturing Mid-American Conference championships and maintaining an average cumulative GPA of 3.17.

CMU is located in Mount Pleasant, a community that blends the best of small-town living with big-city amenities. It’s part of the culturally varied and vibrant Great Lakes Bay Region that also includes Saginaw, Bay City, Midland and the state’s largest Native American community, centered on the Saginaw Chippewa Isabella Reservation in Mount Pleasant.

Area residents enjoy the mix of outdoor activities, cultural events, shopping and dining options, and family attractions. Other major Michigan destinations and attractions — Lansing, Grand Rapids, Detroit, Traverse City, wineries, beaches, golf and ski resorts, and many more — are within easy reach of the city’s central location in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula.

CMU employees enjoy access to a nationally recognized wellness program along with health care and benefits that exceed regional, state and national norms.

Central Michigan University is a place where we value students and work for their success, where we act as family, and where employees are engaged, appreciated and have extraordinary opportunities to make a difference.

We intentionally maintain and strengthen the hallmark CMU culture that sets us apart from our peers by expecting CMU leaders and employees to model the following Leadership Standards and develop them within their teams.

Please review the Leadership Standards before applying for this position.

Central Michigan University is dedicated to fostering an environment that is reflective of the communities we serve. We are especially interested in highly qualified candidates who will advance and promote CMU’s mission, vision, and leadership standards.


You must submit an on-line application in order to be considered as an applicant for this position.

Cover letters may be addressed to the Hiring Committee.

This job is a one‑year appointment starting on the hire date. The department may choose to extend the appointment at their discretion.

CMU is an Equal Opportunity Employer and institution. CMU does not discriminate against persons based on age, color, disability, ethnicity, familial status, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, height, marital status, national origin, political persuasion, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, race, religion, sex, sex-based stereotypes, sexual orientation, transgender status, veteran status, or weight.

If you wish to see “Know Your Rights ” posters, please click here.

CMU does not discriminate on the basis of sex in the education program or activity that it operates, including admission and employment, and is required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 not to discriminate in such a matter.

Inquiries about the application of Title IX can be made to CMU’s Title IX Coordinator, the US Department of Education’s Assistant Secretary, or both.

CMU’s Title IX Coordinator can be reached at:

Phone: 989-774-3253
Office: 103 E. Preston St.
Bovee University Center, suite 306
Mount Pleasant, MI 48858
Email: titleix@cmich.edu