Michigan Economic Development Corporation
  • Industries
  • Services
  • Site Selection
  • Why Michigan
  • News

Thousands of Resources. Ready to help.

Advantages

  • COVID-19 Resources
  • Office of Future Mobility
  • Cost of Living Calculator
  • Success Stories

Popular

  • Survival Grant
  • COVID-19 Response
  • Foreign Direct Investment
  • Michigan Strategic Fund (MSF)
Michigan Economic Development Corporation
  • Industries
  • Services
  • Site Selection
  • Why Michigan
  • News
  • About MEDC
  • Contact MEDC
  • Community
  • Michigan Strategic Fund
  • Freedom of Information Act
MEDC Project Map MEDC Project Map
Site Selection Site Selection
Pure Michigan Travel Pure Michigan Travel
  1. News
  2. 2016
  3. 11
  4. Northwood U football coach finds winning formula

Northwood U football coach finds winning formula

MEDC

Monday, November 14, 2016

New technology helps players reduce fumbles

Learn how Tom Cregure chose Michigan as his pathway for inventing the HIGH and TIGHT football, utilizing SmartZones and the Central Michigan University of Resource Corporation (CMURC).

Any football player – or fan, for that matter – knows the critical importance of hanging on to the pigskin. Turnovers on the gridiron – not dissimilar to mistakes in life – make the difference between winning and losing.

football_foto.jpg

For a football player, a fumble can mean the loss of possession and the game. And, for NFL players, losing the ball could mean a demotion -- or worse.

Reducing fumbles is the goal of a new football training tool called HIGHandTIGHT. Known to many in the NFL as the “beeping football,” HIGHandTIGHT is a solution developed by Division II Northwood University assistant coach Tom Creguer. Using pressure sensors placed under each panel of the football, the training tool provides instant audible feedback when carried properly.

When a player catches the ball, and tucks the ball away with proper grip the ball “beeps.” If it continues to beep, the player is carrying the ball with constant pressure, creating muscle memory and awareness of ball location.

“HIGHandTIGHT is a perfect example of what our ecosystem was created to support and a demonstration of technology serving as a game-changer for many industries,” said Fred Molnar, vice president of entrepreneurship and innovation at Michigan Economic Development Corporation and director of Michigan Life Science and Innovation Center (MLSIC).
 

After developing HIGHandTIGHT, Creguer thought he had a clear vision and understood the process to bringing his innovative product to market. After connecting with the Central Michigan University Research Corporation (CMURC), a nonprofit business accelerator and business incubator, he learned how far he still had to go. 

Funded by the MEDC and located in the heart of the Mt. Pleasant, SmartZone and CMURC provides the resources and mentorship to help turn an idea into a business. Walking Creguer through each step and developing a timeline, the team helped the coach secure a product patent, receive starter funds and determine the best approach to reach the customer base for the product. 

“I was a lean start-up and I’d used all my savings toward creating this solution,” said Creguer. “The football training equipment market is beyond an $80 million industry I am trying to enter and I thought I had a great vision, but I was mistaken. CMURC showed me what an entrepreneur needs to do and how to do it.” 

Since launching the product, the company has 20 percent of the NFL’s teams, including the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins and Indianapolis Colts. Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh raved about the potential positive impact of training tool.

Top NCAA programs at Michigan State University, Notre Dame, the University of Oregon, Texas A&M University and the University of Tennessee are also using HIGHandTIGHT. 

“As coaches we are always analyzing and trying to find an edge or area we can improve,” Creguer said. “During a product study in the 2015 season, Northwood used the balls during practice each day and by the end of the season their running back stats showed a decrease in fumbles by 64 percent. We have the data to show that the product is doing exactly what it is designed to do – reduce fumbles.”

Contact Us

To contact a business development specialist, click here or call 1.888.522.0103.

More stories in Entrepreneurship

  • 2020 in Review: A Year Marked by Challenge and Hope
  • Fund Facts: Monica Wheat, Venture Catalysts
  • Entrepreneurs and Startups Find Pure Opportunity in Michigan

Investing in Michigan

Leveraging Michigan’s medical device technology industry for Pfizer’s...

Business

Michigan Enabling Resilience

Business

Michigan continues to prove it’s the ideal place to do business

  • About MEDC
  • Transparency
  • Public Notices & RFPs
  • Contact MEDC
  • Site Map
  • Terms and Conditions
Michigan Economic Development Corporation
Address
300 N. Washington Sq., Lansing, MI 48913
888.522.0103
© 2021 Michigan Economic Development Corporation