The NCAA is taking a more nuanced approach to how it punishes college players who bet on teams at their schools, even as the organization continues to fret about another scandal.
Earlier this week, the Division I Council Coordination Committee followed through on a request by the Conference Commissioners Association in early October and lightened the mandatory sentence for student-athletes who get caught wagering on another one of their college’s teams.
"Effective immediately, reinstatement guidelines for student-athletes who wager on teams at their school — excluding their own team — will start at requiring one season of ineligibility and a loss of one year of eligibility," the NCAA said in a press release. "Student-athletes will also be required to participate in sports wagering rules and prevention education as a condition of reinstatement."
The one-year suspension is a lighter starting point than the permanent ineligibility that the previous guidelines recommended. Moreover, the NCAA said the updated guidelines can be applied to cases of suspended student-athletes caught wagering on another team at their school that were reported on or after May 2 of this year.
"To be clear, Division I members do not encourage student-athletes to engage in sports wagering at any level, and the actions today to modify reinstatement conditions should not be interpreted as support for wagering behaviors," said Jon Steinbrecher, chair of the Council Coordination Committee and commissioner of the Mid-American Conference, in the release. "NCAA members continue to prioritize integrity of competition and felt that reinstatement conditions for violations of wagering rules should reflect that focus and, when possible, also accommodate opportunities for preventative education."
Doing its homework
The move is another in a string by the NCAA to better understand and adapt to the effects that broader legalization of sports betting is having on student-athletes.
While current rules forbid college players from betting on any sport sponsored by the NCAA, including professional events, the organization said the tweak to reinstatement guidelines announced this week is “the first step” by members to review rules related to event wagering more broadly.
"The council agreed with Division I commissioners that the reinstatement conditions for wagering violations in limited circumstances should be adjusted," Steinbrecher said in the release. "Member schools need to fully examine NCAA wagering legislation overall — particularly in light of changes in recent years to federal and state laws — but the council agreed that additional changes should not be made until potential changes to rules are contemplated."
Sports betting has quickly turned into a financial behemoth, with $93 billion wagered in 2022.
— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 9, 2023
NCAA president Charlie Baker is worried about the impact on college athletes. https://t.co/6YOLqwj8hA
This week’s adjustment also comes as several high-profile betting scandals continue to plague professional and college sports. The NCAA even announced in September that it sanctioned Air Force after a former coach wagered on college games, including some played by the service academy’s football team.
NCAA president Charlie Baker recently told CBS News that he wants the organization and states to work together to pass bills that would ban prop bets on college players and games. Baker also said the NCAA is talking to sportsbooks to seek their support for legislation that would create prohibited bettors lists for gamblers who harass coaches and players.
CBS suggested to Baker that another major betting scandal is more a question of “when,” not “if.”
“You certainly have to behave with that kind of an attitude,” Baker replied.
