Fall Symposium 2025 (Virtual)
This event took place online on November 8, 2025. We had an engaging discussion with Thompson Bliss, a senior manager in Football Operations and Data Scientist at the NFL, who shared his insights and observations so far on the current NFL season. Then, we learned about the intersection between sports commentary and social media from notable sports content creators/influencers Andrew Fenichel, Frank Michael Smith, and Cullen Honohan.
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The University of Delaware was the presenting sponsor of the Fall Symposium 2025. Information about the University's brand-new undergraduate major in sports performance analytics can be found here.
Speakers
Thompson Bliss is senior manager, Football Operations Data Scientist, for the National Football League. He started at the NFL in February 2020 as a Data Scientist and was promoted to his current role in January 2024. He completed his master’s degree in Data Science at Columbia University in the City of New York in December 2019. He received a Bachelor of Science in Physics and Astronomy with minors in Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Wisconsin - Madison in 2018.
Andrew Fenichel is a sports content creator based in LA. Originally from the Washington DC area, Andrew studied Journalism and Data Science at Northwestern University, where he first began posting social media content. Andrew is best known for being a die-hard fan of his DC sports teams and for his hot takes on the NBA and NFL. He has over 250,000 followers and 300 million lifetime views, creating sports commentary content across all platforms.
Frank Michael Smith is a sports creator and entrepreneur with over 3.5 million followers across platforms, known for his viral storytelling and unique perspective on the sports world. He is the founder of Rhino Studios, which founded the new sports gaming app Solo Survivor. Through both his content and his ventures, Frank blends creativity, strategy, and sports culture to engage millions of fans daily.
Cullen Honohan (All Hail BBall) is a basketball storyteller with nearly 2 million combined followers across social media. The All Hail brands focus on highlighting top players and programs off the court and telling the stories of their journeys. From the #1 player in the country to small schools in Alaska, if there is a story to tell, then All Hail will be there.