A week ago, the Cowboys added two new people to their analytics department. Nick Fullerton and Vincent Etherton were both brought in as strategic football fellows, effectively a summer internship position within the Cowboys’ rapidly growing Strategic Football Operations department.
Now, in conjunction with Fullerton and Etherton being added, two others have been promoted within the unit.
Both Piper Hampsch and Shane Hauck have been promoted, with Hampsch being named a strategic football analyst and Hauck a data scientist. This is notable because Hampsch and Hauck both represented the first round of people the Cowboys and head analytics chief John Park brought into the organization as strategic football fellows.
Hampsch came to the Cowboys fresh out of college at Duke University. She had a bachelor’s degree in statistical science and a master’s in foundations of business with a focus on sports management. Hampsch had previously interned with the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Blackhawks, as well as a hiring search firm.
Hauck came out of Carnegie Mellon, having just completed a master’s in applied data science. Prior to that, he studied data science and sports studies at St. Lawrence University. Hauck also played soccer at St. Lawrence and, during his master’s program, was a finalist for the Big Data Bowl – an annual football analytics convention – with his project analyzing the value of setting the edge on run defense.
Both Hampsch and Hauck started with the Cowboys as strategic football fellows – the same title that two new people were just added to – but were elevated to full-time roles for the year. That coincided with the title of senior strategic football fellow, which both individuals held until their most recent promotion.
Both promotions come in the wake of the Cowboys losing Bryant Davis. One of the first few people added to the analytics department after Park took over, Davis came to Dallas after spending nearly four years in an analytics role with the Tampa Bay Rays of the MLB. However, at season’s end, Davis announced he was going back to baseball, getting hired as the Miami Marlins’ director of baseball research.
Davis had initially joined the Cowboys as a strategic football analyst – the role Hampsch now has – and was elevated to the role of lead data scientist this past year. Because of the way the Cowboys had built themselves a bench of qualified candidates through the fellowship program, though, they were well-equipped to replace Davis’ contributions by promoting both Hampsch and Hauck.
It’s a very positive sign for Park’s department that they’ve already managed to establish a sort of farm system, ensuring continuity and consistency in production. It also contributes to the Cowboys’ continued growth into one of the NFL’s largest – and most respected – analytics departments just a few years after being one of the league’s smallest.
