Tag: Catapult

ESPN: Michigan football was a target in Catapult breach, not a perpetrator

Things are getting weird. #GoBlue

As the world turns has returned.

Michigan football has long been embroiled in a series of scandals this fall, with the sign-stealing saga taking center stage in college football. But as rival fans wait for another shoe to drop on the Wolverines, it may actually fall on someone else.

Alabama wide receiver Isaiah Bond opened Pandora’s box on Thursday when he said the Tide had stopped using Catapult film systems on their iPads and instead watched film in small groups in team facilities. While many were quick to suggest Michigan football was up to its old alleged shenanigans, the Wolverines shared on Friday that they stopped using Catapult on individual iPads in early November as a similar precaution.

Yahoo’s Dan Wetzel dropped a bombshell later on Friday noting that Michigan is not the centerpiece of an investigated Catapult breach.

Catapult issued a statement on Friday morning declaring an internal investigation had found there was no breach, but that the investigation is ongoing.

Here’s where it gets interesting. According to ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg and Tom VanHaaren, a Michigan football team spokesperson clarified the Wolverines are not being targeted for the breach, but are considered the victim of another program illegally accessing their Catapult.

The investigation was launched after an unnamed football program was accused of accessing video from other programs.

A Michigan spokesperson said that it is not being accused of the allegation and believed it was one of the schools targeted in the breach. Michigan shut down access to its Cloud and video through Catapult in the beginning of November to prevent any unauthorized access to its film.

Was it a team that was on the schedule in November? That would indicate Purdue, Penn State, Maryland or Ohio State as potential perpetrators, at least in the eyes of those within Schembechler Hall.

We’ll see where this investigation goes.

Catapult, the app Alabama banned players from using, says NCAA is investigating alleged unauthorized access to football video footage

Catapult says it has not found any security breaches of its system

At Thursday’s media session with players from Alabama and Michigan ahead of the Rose Bowl, Crimson Tide wideout Isaiah Bond made news when he told reporters Alabama players were instructed not to watch film on their iPads this week due to security concerns, per USA Today‘s Dan Wolken.

The app Bond said players were specifically told not to use is called Catapult, which provides comprehensive video and data analysis solutions for football teams. In response to a For The Win inquiry, a company spokesman confirmed the existence of an ongoing NCAA investigation into unauthorized access of football video footage and is cooperating with local authorities in the matter.

Per Catapult:

“We are aware of the ongoing investigation of the alleged unauthorized access to NCAA football video footage. We have conducted an internal investigation and have not found any security breach in our systems. We have shared this with local authorities that are conducting an investigation. We will continue to support the ongoing investigation with the NCAA and local authorities. At Catapult, we hold ourselves to the highest of standards and safeguarding customer information is of utmost importance to us.”

 

It’s unclear if this NCAA investigation is related to Michigan’s sign-stealing scandal or a separate issue. Per Wolken:

Alabama offensive coordinator Tommy Rees declined several opportunities to elaborate on why the Tide felt the need to protect its practice film, but teams typically distribute that type of footage direct to players’ iPads via an online cloud storage service. Though nobody said it explicitly, the implication would be that Alabama wanted to take extra precaution against hacking into the film system.

Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy told reporters on Friday his team hasn’t watched film on their iPads since November. Wolverines offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore confirmed as much by noting the team has been watching film in-house only.

“Yeah, just caught wind of things that could be going on,” Moore said, per 247Sports’ Zach Shaw. “Just told our kids, I think it was early November, ‘hey, we’re not watching stuff on the iPads anymore. Watch it in-house and handle it that way.'”

For The Win reached out to the NCAA for clarification and did not immediately hear back.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

Tennessee football introduces Catapult as ‘the most high-tech bra you’ve ever seen’

Tennessee football introduces Catapult as ‘the most high-tech bra you’ve ever seen’

Tennessee football players have been posting photos working out in gear called Catapult.

On Wednesday, the University of Tennessee’s football Twitter account showcased Catapult. UT described Catapult as “the most high-tech bra you’ve ever seen.”

The Tweet has since been deleted.

https://twitter.com/vol_football/status/1374801471988928518?s=21

Catapult is a GPS monitoring system used to track athletes during practices, games and conditioning sessions. Tracking is conducted from a small unit worn in a vest or pouch connected to student-athlete’s shoulder pads.

Total distance, high speed distance, max velocity and player load are all tracked.

The Vols will kick off spring practices on Thursday under first-year head coach Josh Heupel.

Heupel was hired as Tennessee’s head coach on Jan. 28.

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