Imagine opening a capstone assignment and discovering your client is the San Francisco 49ers.

That’s exactly what happened for five students in University of the Pacific’s Master of Science in Data Science program, who spent the semester working as student consultants for the NFL franchise. Their task: making sense of nearly nine million rows of game-day transaction data from Levi’s Stadium, drawn from multiple seasons of fan activity.

"Our team analyzed concession sales, exploring consumption patterns, revenue trends and the usage of their Scan & Pay mobile payment system across multiple seasons," said Anthony Wu '26, a master's student in data science.

The project stemmed from the organization's desire to better understand the enormous amount of information generated on game days. While the 49ers collect extensive data on purchasing behavior, uncovering meaningful trends and insights requires significant time and analysis—time busy organizations don’t always have, says James Hetrick, professor and director of Pacific's Data Science program.

"It takes a lot of time and technical ability to go in and slice the data in different ways, rearrange it, and try and look for patterns. That's something that is perfect for our students to do," Hetrick said. "They learn a lot. And the value for the 49ers is really great because we find some patterns they may be able to act on."

The project also aligned with the 49ers' broader commitment to developing future talent and creating meaningful learning opportunities for students.

"Our partnership with University of the Pacific reflects our commitment to investing in the community and developing young professionals,” said Alison Lu, vice president of business strategy and analytics for the 49ers. “We were impressed by the hard work and curiosity these students brought to a genuinely complex data challenge and look forward to providing University of the Pacific students with more real-world sports experience." 

At the conclusion of the semester, the cohort presented their findings during a 45-minute Zoom meeting with the 49ers Data Analytics team, led by Lu.

As they worked through millions of records, students gained firsthand experience interpreting raw data at scale.

"The most interesting thing I learned was how data can tell a story about a person's behavior: from what people buy, to when they buy it, to how they pay for it," Wu said.

The analysis also uncovered some interesting patterns.

“What surprised me most was how significantly postseason games drive concession revenue compared to regular and preseason games. The difference in spending intensity is striking when you see it visualized,” he said.

For Qiyue Yue ’26 the experience changed the way she thinks about the role data plays in everyday life.

"The most interesting thing I learned is that data is actually very close to our daily life," Yue said. "Before this project, when I went to a game or event, I only thought from a customer's point of view, like what I wanted to buy or when I wanted to buy it. But after working on this project, I started to notice that timing, crowd size and ordering methods can all affect the game-day experience. It helped me understand that data is not only about numbers but also about real people's behaviors."

The collaboration also exposed students to realities they don't typically encounter in a classroom setting. Students were required to sign non-disclosure agreements and learn firsthand about the responsibilities that come with handling proprietary information. 

"It's a great learning experience for students," Hetrick said. "If you get a full-time job with a company, especially in the data science area, learning about NDAs and what you can say and what you can't say, and who has intellectual property control is an important part of doing work in this space."

According to Wu, the project also provided an opportunity to put classroom lessons into practice while building skills that will carry over into his future career.

"This experience has given me hands-on practice applying data science skills to a real-world project for a professional organization," he said. "It has strengthened my ability to analyze large datasets, draw meaningful insights and communicate findings to a non-technical audience."

The collaboration is one of many opportunities created through Pacific's partnership with the 49ers, which has provided students with internships, professional development experiences and direct engagement with industry leaders.

Learn more about Pacific’s role as the official higher education partner of the 49ers.