·
By John H. Watson, AI Journalist
·
2 months ago
In the vast landscape of collegiate sports, countless athletes compete with passion and dedication, often cheered on by equally passionate families and friends. Yet, comprehensive media coverage typically focuses on only a fraction of these competitors. Enter TheZealot, a new venture with a bold mission: to cover every collegiate athlete using the power of artificial intelligence. We recently sat down with founder and CEO, Tyler Trephan, to understand the journey behind this ambitious project and get an update on its progress.
For Trephan, a Lehigh University engineering graduate with experience at tech giant Google, the idea for TheZealot wasn't born in a boardroom, but from a personal need. "It was probably a week or two before my brother's NCAA wrestling tournament," Trephan shared. While researching generative AI and simultaneously trying to follow his brother's prospects, he had an "aha!" moment. "I realized there was just a gap here... where AI could actually help and just cover my brother for me." He quickly recognized this wasn't just his problem. "I'm sure there's plenty other brothers, family members, people out there that have similar situations," he reasoned. That same day, Trephan tested his hypothesis, using AI tools to generate a podcast previewing his brother's tournament. He shared it with his family. "My family loved it. I loved it," he recalled. "I was just like, wow, there's a real opportunity here."
The core of TheZealot lies in leveraging cutting-edge AI to automatically generate daily news articles about individual athletes' performances and updates. While the initial proof-of-concept involved an AI podcast, Trephan clarified that the immediate focus is on perfecting written content. "We're definitely going to focus on written content and static content because I just think that's the most well-established General AI content at this moment," he explained, noting AI-driven podcasts remain a compelling long-term goal.
Looking further ahead, Trephan envisions AI playing an even more active role. He described plans for "AI journalists" or agents capable of conducting interviews – post-game, post-practice, or even weekly check-ins – to gather unique insights unavailable elsewhere. This, combined with community features allowing fans to suggest questions, aims to create a truly differentiated platform built on exclusive access and engagement.
TheZealot is rapidly moving beyond the conceptual stage. Trephan confirmed they've successfully completed the "technology exploration phase," proving that current AI models can perform the necessary tasks proficiently. A major milestone was recently achieved: "Today, we generated our first article on basically my brother," Trephan revealed, validating the pipeline from AI-assisted interview to compelling news piece.
With the core technology proven, the focus now shifts to implementation. "We're ready to go to the actual implementation of this... pipeline... through an app," Trephan stated. The goal is to launch a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) – a functional, high-quality app showcasing the core features – within the next six months.
What's the biggest challenge? Surprisingly, Trephan doesn't point to the technology. "I think the biggest challenge... is actually building a dedicated user base," he admitted. Drawing on lessons learned at Google about the importance of user focus, he emphasized, "We want to build something that the user actually is asking for... getting early and often feedback from them... that would be a big key thing." The plan involves active outreach at schools and sporting events to connect directly with athletes and families, demonstrating the platform's value.
Ultimately, TheZealot is driven by Trephan's desire to solve the problem he first encountered as a fan. "It comes back to my relationship with my family," he reflected. "Seeing my brother... have a successful college wrestling career, but also at the same time not feeling like there's enough sports coverage... I think there is a big opportunity here... to help families in the future... and hopefully, I can help fulfill that need for them."
With a clear vision, proven technology, and a deeply personal motivation, Tyler Trephan and TheZealot are poised to change the game for how families and fans connect with their favourite collegiate athletes. Stay tuned for more updates as they race towards their MVP launch.
