Big Score

Because her parents were originally from Ohio, Ashley Goodin grew up watching Ohio State football games with the family – even though they lived in suburban Los Angeles.

While those college games made her a huge Buckeye fan, they also helped shaped Goodin’s career ambitions.

Ashley Goodin

“I always knew I wanted to do something in football,” she said. “I just didn’t know what.”

Fortunately, Goodin (Business Administration, ’17; MS, Business Analytics, ’18) was able to take advantage of the business analytics graduate program at the Orfalea College of Business. And, as a result, she eventually landed a job with the New York Jets, where she now heads her own team as manager for business analytics.

“It’s been great,” she said. “I don’t think too many people can say they landed their dream job right out of college.”

As a child in Santa Clarita, Goodin enjoyed numbers, math being her favorite subject. But her passion was football.

While neither parent attended Ohio State – her father went to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, her mother to Youngstown State in Ohio – several other family members did. Eventually, Goodin also wanted to attend Ohio State, mostly to experience big time college football.

“I wanted to go to that big school, where you’re tailgating on Saturdays, going to the game,” she said.

But her father, an aerospace engineer, knew about Cal Poly’s reputation and worked to convince her to become a Mustang. Even as she looked forward to Columbus, her father persuaded her to visit San Luis Obispo, where he was even more impressed during an Open House.

How can I disappoint my dad? she wondered.

“I’m very close to my dad and really value his opinion,” she said.

At Cal Poly, finance was her concentration, initially setting her goals on becoming the first female NFL commissioner. But as analytics became a significant component of professional sports, she began to shift her focus, and Goodin figured she needed to be better prepared for those types of jobs.

The graduate business analytics program at Cal Poly is an accelerated, year-long interdisciplinary program that develops both the analytical mindset and technical skills needed for data-driven careers.

Met Life Stadium, home of the New York Jets, during a game against the Buffalo Bills. Ashley Goodin’s job entails using analytics to decide what ticket pricing should be during the season. (Courtesy New York Jets)

“It was definitely a long year – a lot to learn in a short time span – but it was great for what I was trying to do,” Goodin said.

As she neared completion of her master’s degree, several fellow graduate students were landing jobs with tech companies or the “Big Four” accounting firms. Meanwhile, Goodin was constantly perusing the TeamworkOnline website for jobs in the sports industry.

“I was only applying for sports jobs – nothing else,” she said.

With her peers getting job offers, her father eventually suggested she might want to consider other industries.

“I was just, like, ‘I can do it – I’m not ready to give up yet,” Goodin recalled. “So, yeah – I proved him wrong, which felt very good to do.”

When the Jets offered her a position, Goodin headed to New Jersey, where the team’s business offices and training facility are located. The business analytics team, she said, uses data to determine ticket prices, which vary through the season, to shape targeted marketing to fans, and to maximize partnership results.

How each team uses analytics can vary according to the market, she said.

“We’re in one of the biggest — if not the biggest — markets in the world, and we’re constantly trying to flip over every rock that we can,” Goodin said. “If you live in Wisconsin, on Saturdays, you’re going to Madison for college football, and Sundays going to Green Bay for the Packers, and it’s just a way of life. We’re competing with a lot more living in the big city, and we are trying to figure out how to get more people engaged and saying, ‘All right, I’m going to go to a Jets game today instead of a Broadway show or a Michelin Star restaurant.’”

While she was nearly 3,000 miles from San Luis Obispo, the skills she learned at Cal Poly traveled with her – particularly the experience of performing analytics for industry as a student.

“Our industry projects help students by giving them real-world experiences, which are always messier than other classroom activities designed to focus on learning a single skill at a time,” said Brennan Davis, professor and director of the MS Business Analytics program. “Instead, all the skills they have learned come together for an outcome tied to real decisions that affect real people for a real organization. This gives students stories to tell in future job interviews, lines to add to their resumes, and preparedness for their next job.”

And, of course, Davis knew Goodin could help students in her role.

“Ashley was such a bright student in my Cal Poly class as an MS in business analytics student,” he said. “When she landed her job as the business analytics manager for the New York Jets, I invited her to be a client. I knew the students would like her, plus so many of our students are attracted to the sports industry.”

Knowing how such projects benefitted her as a student, Goodin said, she jumped at the opportunity. For two years, Cal Poly students worked with the Jets on various projects, including one predicting how various factors throughout the season might impact the fluctuating ticket prices.

“This gives us time to dive in deep on a problem we’re curious about and need new thoughts on and unbiased opinions,” she said.

While Los Angeles didn’t have an NFL team when she was growing up, Goodin now has a professional team to root for.

“It’s hard not to be a Jets fan,” she said. “You’re going to every single home game, your job depends on what the team’s doing – how they’re doing. When we lose, we really feel it hard on Mondays.” While the team has had noted struggles through the years, this past season showed promise, with the Jets winning five of its first seven games, before finishing 7-10.

“On victory Mondays, everyone is excited as can be, bringing donuts and coffee and celebrating,” she said. “It’s a very fun environment to be in.”