The NCAA is continuing to address concerns related to online legal sports betting.
The NCAA has announced that it is teaming up with data science company Signify Group to study and respond to online abuse and threats that are directed at student-athletes, coaches, officials, and committee members who are participating in the governing body’s championships.
"Engaging Signify to monitor NCAA championships reflects our resolute commitment to college athlete safety and well-being,” said NCAA president Charlie Baker in a statement. “This is a first-of-its-kind project in college sports focusing on online abuse and threats while arming social platforms and law enforcement to take action to protect thousands of student-athletes.”
The NCAA will use Signify’s artificial intelligence service — Threat Matrix — to launch the initiative, which is aimed at supporting the mental health and well-being of college sports. Threat Matrix, which is expected to go live sometime in December, will leverage its service on several social media platforms including Instagram, TikTok, and X — previously known as Twitter.
The AI service has the capability to sift through more than 35 languages to monitor and detect online abuse while also having the ability to analyze images and emojis. Threat Matrix can then report any abuse to leaders of college programs, law enforcement, and social media platforms.
The NCAA’s decision to partner with Signify to address online abuse and threats comes after a recent campus administrators survey that found that 10% of Division 1 respondents were aware of in-person or online harassment directed at athletes by someone with gambling interests.
Setting a standard
The NCAA’s willingness to protect student-athletes and institutions from abuse comes after recent controversies related to sports betting.
Ohio gaming regulators in May ordered the state’s sportsbooks to suspend betting on Alabama college baseball following a suspicious in-person wager. An investigation into the matter led to the firing of Alabama head coach Brad Bohannon, who is now on Ohio’s self-exclusion list.
The University of Iowa and Iowa State have also dealt with uses related to betting following a probe into unlawful wagering by more than 40 student-athletes and one employee across the two institutions. As a result of the probe, several athletes pleaded guilty to underage gambling.
The NCAA has taken a new approach to punishing athletes amid the influx of gambling issues.
Last month, the Division I Council Coordination Committee lightened the mandatory sentence for student-athletes who get caught wagering on another one of their college’s teams following a request by the Conference Commissioners Association. The new sentence requires “one season of ineligibility and a loss of one year of eligibility,” compared to permanent ineligibility.
It is considered a punishment that helps the NCAA navigate the emergence of sports betting.
