In a twist of fate, two student athletes from Auburn University emerged as champions of the SEC Network’s inaugural debut of “SEC Startup” for their AI-powered, athlete-focused company, The Digital Athlete.

This series, which originally aired July 15 on SEC network, is an expansion of the Southeastern Conference’s (SEC) academic competition portfolio to showcase the entrepreneurial ventures of student-athletes.

Auburn track and field athletes Allison Tanner and David Edmonson pitched their company, which utilizes artificial intelligence to help athletes take control of their health and performance using data-driven wearables and artificial intelligence. They competed against students at fellow SEC schools, including the University of Missouri, the University of Florida, LSU, as well as the newest SEC school, the University of Oklahoma.

It wasn’t a given that the two students would compete, however.

“Two days before SEC Start Up: A Student-Athlete Pitch Competition was scheduled to be taped in the Regions Center Auditorium, the list of participants for the event was slightly different than the five teams who would headline the show,” Regions Bank reports. In addition to serving as the official bank of the SEC, Regions was also host to the show’s filming location.

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“The eventual winners – The Digital Athlete – didn’t even know they were coming. They weren’t on the original list. In fact, it was a last-minute exit from one of the original student-athlete teams that opened the door for The Digital Athlete to be a part of the competition.

“And all they needed was the opportunity. The team hailing from Auburn University claimed the top prize in the initial SEC Start Up competition,” Regions says.

Their unexpected victory is one of many elements to the entire dais of student athletes’ entrepreneurialism and eagerness to seize opportunities depicted in the show. Other winners included Side Coach Sports and ECO Reuse, who also impressed the judges with innovative ideas.