I got accepted to a T10 PhD in Statistics with its research lab in sports analytics and a T50 PhD in Statistics with no lab for now but I saw lots of faculties with my interest (finance). Side note a good amount of my stipends for the T10 program is from the lab so I'm not sure about the chance of changing lab and also afraid to ask. (it might show my obvious disinterest in the lab?)
I know the answer to school name or topic is always topic, but my situation is a little different because I do enjoy sports analytics (have an undergrad published paper). My concern is that I don't want to work in sports field after PhD. I lean towards industry more than academia and am afraid that doing research in sports might affect my chance to find jobs as sports analytics is not a respectable(?) field in statistics.
I do love the T50 school and are happy with its location and stipends. But again this would probably be the last school attached to my name and I don't know if it would be the dumpest choice ever to choose a smaller school over an ivy. My main question is that would sport analytics research allow me to find jobs in industry other than sports?