The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association has received permission from The National Federation of State High School Associations to experiment with instant replay and has announced that it will implement the use of video replay review during football games at “a handful of schools” this fall. State football officials will have access to Hudl Sideline, a mobile application that streams live game film across multiple devices, so they can review plays in question. Policies to govern the review process will be determined before the end of the month. New Jersey will become the 2nd state to use video replay during high school competition; Minnesota used it during 2017 state championship games. Georgia, Alabama and Arizona are all reportedly considering video replay implementation as well.
Howie Long-Short: Hudl, a sports video-editing company, has raised just shy of $109 million to date (over 5 funding rounds). Their $30 million series D round, which closed in July 2017, valued the company at $430 million; up from $270 million in 2015. The company is using the capital to add 300 employees. You can play the start-up through Nelnet Inc. (NNI), a publicly traded student loan servicer. Wondering where the connection lies between NNI and Hudl? They’re both based in Lincoln, NE.
Fan Marino: The NFL’s competition committee is looking to simply the definition of a catch. The proposed rule (they’ll vote next week, it’s a lock to pass) would still require a receiver to control possession (there will be a defined time element) and establishes himself in bounds; but, would eliminate language pertaining to “going to the ground” to complete the catch. The league also intends to implement language that would prevent “slight ball movement” from altering calls and return the standard for overturning a call to “indisputable” visual evidence. NFL fans won’t be upset about the proposed changes, but you may find some upset parents in Northern New Jersey; those forced to sit through a 4-hour game, in 40-degree weather, because some high school official is determined to get a spot correct.
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