(Update: Click here for Part II, as Sloan updated its ticket policy and is now awarding all poster-winners 1 free ticket)

The Sloan Sports Analytics Conference (SSAC) has sold out every year since its 2006 inception, garnering the attention of ESPN, the New York Times, Time Magazine, and countless other worldwide media outlets, while promoting, according to its website, “the increasing role of analytics in the global sports industry.” This year, the conference will be held in Boston on February 28 and March 1.

One of the most academic portions of SSAC is its research paper contest (RP), which begins each year in September with an abstract submission, and, for worthy candidates, ends with a lengthy paper due in January.  This year, I was one of a likely several dozen finalists (organizers did not offer the actual number of paper submissions) whose initial abstract was accepted…