NBC Sports Buys Blugold Alums' Twin Cities Tech Firm

V1 Staff |

A Minneapolis-based sports technology company founded by two UW-Eau Claire alums was purchased in early July by NBC Sports Group. Sports Engine (which until the sale was known as Sports Ngin) describes itself as the “leading provider of sport life management Web software and mobile applications for youth, amateur, and professional sports.” The company makes software used by athletes, parents, coaches, referees, fans, journalists, and other people affiliated with more than 500,000 teams, clubs, leagues, and associations. Terms of the sale were undisclosed, and Sports Engine will retain its executives and roughly 250 employees, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reported. The nucleus of the business began in 2001 when Blugolds Justin Kaufenburg (a 2003 economics grad) and Carson Kipfer (a 2004 graphic design grad) started a Web, video, and graphic design business in Eau Claire. According to a UWEC News Bureau release, this led to a Web tool for hockey organizations, which its creators dubbed Puck Systems. The business moved to Minneapolis in 2004, adding another Blugold, Greg Blasko (a 2004 management information systems grad). In the ensuing years, the company continued to grow – adding more UWEC grads along the way – and eventually reworked its products to serve teams and leagues from all sports. Kaufenburg remains CEO, Kipfer is principal designer, and Blasko is chief technology officer.

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