SBLive Sports and the Mississippi High School Activities Association launch MHSAA Connect, an advanced data management solution for high school sports content

The industry’s first open-access data hub for high school sports introduces streamlined content sharing, eliminates redundant data entry and gives the state association and athletic administrators the ability to work with more software partners than ever before

Clinton, Mississippi (January 2, 2024) – The Mississippi High School Activities Association and SBLive Sports today announced the launch of MHSAA Connect, a content management solution that will dramatically improve the access to high school sports content throughout the state. This is the first centralized data management solution to be deployed specifically for Mississippi high school sports, allowing the MHSAA to provide a new level of services to member schools, as well as data and media partners throughout the state.

"Our partnership over the past several years with SBLive has helped us promote our member schools, student-athletes, and coaches throughout the state, and we are excited to be taking the next step by participating in the Connect Data Hub with SBLive," said MHSAA Executive Director Rickey Neaves. "This will provide a platform for simple and unified sharing of information while continuing to provide insightful data to the high school sports community."

MHSAA Connect powered by SBLive will streamline the high school sports content and data ecosystem – opening up the market to allow more companies than ever to provide or receive high school schedules, scores, rosters and more, while simplifying workflows for their users. MHSAA Connect seamlessly facilitates the transfer of data to and from software partners, eliminating the need for companies to integrate with multiple platforms like they do today. Redundancies are also eliminated for athletic administrators and coaches, who no longer have to input the same data across multiple incompatible software applications. With MHSAA Connect, all MHSAA approved software platforms will always have the most up-to-date and accurate content in near real-time.

"Connect embodies our mission at SBLive Sports to provide innovative solutions that elevate the high school sports experience," said Dan Beach, CEO of SBLive Sports. "We are honored to partner with the Mississippi High School Activities Association and deploy this next-generation technology platform that will unite the high school sports community through data.”

INPUT ONCE, SEND TO EVERYONE

MHSAA Connect empowers athletic administrators and coaches to choose their preferred data input method, simplifying data management and saving hundreds of hours per year that is wasted on redundant data entry today.

REAL-TIME UPDATES

Each of the MHSAA-approved partners can elect to upgrade their products to send and receive data in near real-time with the MHSAA Connect. The goal is to get to a point in which all data sharing partners inside the market can handle near real-time updates.

STANDARDIZATION AND NORMALIZATION OF DATA

MHSAA Connect asks all partner platforms to comply with current technology standards, ensuring that data is shared efficiently and securely, which will optimize the experience for users while decreasing the amount of customer support needed within each organization providing or receiving it.

STATE ASSOCIATION CONTROL

The Mississippi High School Activities Association now has the control to determine their own “sources of truth” for schedules, rosters, scores and more. And with MHSAA Connect Manager, association staff will have access to a secure administrative platform allowing them to view, edit and create shareable content themselves, including live scoring games if they choose.

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ABOUT MISSISSIPPI HIGH SCHOOL ACTIVITIES ASSOCIATION

The Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) is a nonprofit organization for nearly 600 public, private and parochial schools that choose to join and participate. Its primary function is to provide leadership and coordination of interscholastic athletics and activities for member schools. The MHSAA is a self-supporting organization that does not rely on taxpayer dollars from any agency of the state or federal government.

ABOUT SBLIVE SPORTS

SBLive Sports is a leading provider of high school sports coverage, data, and technology solutions. SBLive's mission is to enhance the high school sports experience for athletes, schools, and fans by delivering innovative technology-driven solutions.