This book tells the story of the 1999 Providence College Friars baseball team, the last season that the sport was played at the institution. Baseball was set to be eliminated after that season in order for the school to comply with Title IX regulatio
This book tells the story of the 1999 Providence College Friars baseball team, the last season that the sport was played at the institution. Baseball was set to be eliminated after that season in order for the school to comply with Title IX regulatio
Alan Reifman is a professor at Texas Tech University and is a graduate of UCLA and the University of Michigan.
Background
Information
Since childhood, I have been fascinated by sports and statistics. In my book, I put these two topics together to look at streakiness in sports. I examine both individual athletes, such as New York Yankee great Joe DiMaggio who got a hit in a record 56 straight games in 1941, and teams, such as University of Connecticut women's basketball squad that won 90 straight games from 2008-2010. What factors contribute to (or hinder) athletes' ability to perform in streaks? My book rounds up the latest psychological, neuroscientific, physical, and statistical evidence to try and answer this question. For readers familiar with the "Moneyball" or "Sabermetric" approach to statistical analysis of sports, my book fits within that tradition (although I've kept the statistics as non-technical as possible). I've tried to make the book as accessible as possible to sports fans, athletes, statisticians, sports psychologists, and coaches.
Accomplishments
I have been a professor at Texas Tech University since 1997, reaching the rank of full professor. In part through my teaching of statistics courses, I have received the honor of being elected to Texas Tech's Teaching Academy, a group that recognizes excellence in teaching.