The NCAA announced Tuesday it delayed its impending rule change that would allow student-athletes to bet on professional sports.
Key Takeaways
- The new sports betting policy was initially going to take effect Saturday but is now scheduled to be enacted Nov. 22.
- SEC commissioner Greg Sankey implied that sporting integrity will be compromised if the changes are approved.
- The NCAA banned three basketball players for illegal gambling last month.
The NCAA has long forbidden student-athletes from gambling on amateur and professional competitions, regardless if they participate in that sport or not.
However, the upcoming change, which was agreed upon by councils overseeing Division I, Division II, and Division III, would amend that to allow team members and personnel to gamble on professional sports.
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey is one of several prominent individuals pushing back on the idea. Pittsburgh football head coach Pat Narduzzi expressed similar sentiments, calling it "one of the stupid decisions" he's ever seen.
In an effort to get the NCAA to uphold its restriction on sports betting, Sankey penned a letter to the board of directors, encouraging them to reconsider the proposal.
"On behalf of our universities, I write to urge action by the NCAA Division I Board of Directors to rescind this change and reaffirm the Association's commitment to maintaining strong national standards that keep collegiate participants separated from sports wagering activity at every level," Sankey wrote. "If there are legal or practical concerns about the prior policy, those should be addressed through careful refinement - not through wholesale removal of the guardrails that have long supported the integrity of games and the well-being of those who participate."
Dealing with more betting scandals
Regardless of if the NCAA decision-makers' pivot, wagering and sharing privileged information related to college sports will remain illegal.
“Our action reflects alignment across divisions while maintaining the principles that guide college sports,” said Roberta Page, director of athletics at Slippery Rock and chair of the Division II Management Council, after the council approved the rule change. “This change recognizes the realities of today’s sports environment without compromising our commitment to protecting the integrity of college competition or the well-being of student-athletes.”
The delay from Nov. 1 to Nov. 22 comes in the wake of a major gambling scandal that rocked the NBA and led to the arrests of Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, and former assistant coach Damon Jones.
The NCAA has also dealt with several sports betting scandals, including an ongoing investigation into suspicious betting patterns involving men’s college basketball teams in small conferences.
“We run the largest integrity program in the world on sports betting across all the various games,” NCAA president Charlie Baker said last month after banning three Fresno State basketball players for sports betting. “Sadly, we discovered some student-athletes involved with some problematic activity.”
D-I schools can override change
Although the Division I board hasn’t announced an intent to change course, adding three weeks to the effective date indicates additional conversations will occur.
Division I member schools may vote to override a proposal within 30 days if it is approved by a majority of less than 75% of the Division I cabinet.
