College sports eye gambling money amid safeguard concerns
RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Sports Writer
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The NCAA stance against gambling on sports by its athletes and those who work in college athletics is summed up simply by the slogan on the posters the association provides to its member schools: “Don’t Bet On It.”
The rules have been unambiguous for decades, part of the bedrock guidance in place for a half-million amateur athletes. But with sports betting now legal in more than half the states and millions flowing to once-apprehensive professional sports leagues, college conferences are starting to explore ways to cash in, too.
The Mid-American Conference was the first to jump in, selling rights to its data and statistics to a company called Genius Sports, which will in turn sell it to sportsbooks.
Expect others to follow, but the additional revenue will come with increased responsibility. And at a time of sweeping change in college sports, with athletes now able to earn money on their fame and the viability and necessity of the NCAA in question, legalized and easily accessible gambling represents more new terrain to navigate.
While the NCAA isn’t standing in the way of these sorts of business deals, actual sports betting remains a violation for those involved in college sports.
“They were able to turn the other way before and say, ‘Oh, that’s all happening over here.’ But the second you’re directly getting paid from sports betting, it also comes with some responsibilities,” said Matthew Holt of U.S. Integrity, a company that works with professional sports leagues and college conferences to monitor for gambling improprieties.
Holt said college sports is uniquely ripe for potential scandals due to a lack of transparency when it comes to player availability, the explosion of endorsement deals for athletes involving boosters and the potential for unpaid players to essentially bet on themselves with ease.
Holt said regulated sports betting in the United States was on track to take in $125 billion this year.
The NCAA men’s basketball tournament brought in $20 million in bets this year, Holt said, and more money is wagered on an average college football Saturday than the typical NFL Sunday.
While all the major professional sports leagues have financial agreements with online sportsbooks, college conferences have been slow to get in the game. MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher said it is impossible to ignore the changing reality.
“What we’ve done, in fact, is brought sports wagering out of the dark corners and put sunshine on it and more transparency on it. And more eyes on it. That’s a positive, that’s not a negative,” he said.
As soon as this coming season, those weeknight MAC football games could be more alluring than ever for gamblers, with Genius’ help.
The London-based company also provides a layer of protection for its partners, including the NFL, through data analysis and relationships with the sportsbooks, said Sean Conroy, Genius Sports vice president for North America.
At conference meetings held earlier this month in Arizona, Holt warned athletic directors and league executives officials in the Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12 of the differences between college and pro sports that make college more susceptible to corruption.
First, college conferences do not require teams and coaches to disclose the injury status and the availability of players for games. The NFL, in contrast, releases an injury report three times per week.
Holt said by hiding injury information, a college coach is unwittingly making those who know — from training staff to team managers to players — targets to be bribed for a wagering advantage.
“So I do think that the collegian space, if they’re going to open up this category for revenue and monetization, needs to take the responsibility to take a step forward in injury information and availability reporting,” Holt said.
Second, with college athletes now permitted to earn money for endorsement deals, Holt said there should be limits on individuals betting on athletes who they are also paying.
“Say you have Tommy’s Used Car Shop giving the quarterback at name the university $100,000 a year and an NIL (deal),” Holt said. “Well, the owner of Tommy’s Used Car Shop should not be able to bet on that university. It’s a conflict of interest. He has a direct influence over the player.”
Holt said pro leagues do a good job of identifying “people of influence” and putting restrictions of them with sportsbooks.
Third, and maybe the most problematic, is the ease with which athletes can bet on themselves. Many online sportsbooks allow users to make prop bets, wagering on an individual performances in a particular game. Can a quarterback throw at least three touchdown passes? Will the point guard reach six assists?
Instead of being paid to influence the final score of a game, as has been the case in point-shaving scandals involving athletes at schools such as Boston College, Toledo and San Diego, athletes can just manipulate their own stats.
Even with the rise of NIL opportunities for college athletes, the vast majority are making modest sums — if any — money.
“And it’s easier for fixsters to approach those players because they don’t have to ask the player to fix a match,” Holt said. “’Hey, not only do we hope your team wins, we hope you play great. Just don’t get nine rebounds.’”
Holt said with the advocacy of U.S. Integrity, three states have made individual player prop bets on college sporting events illegal.
“The other 30 said, ‘Thanks for the wonderful information, Matt, but DraftKings, FanDuel and Caesars, who have big lobbyists, they wanted it and they win,’” Holt said.
Mark Bradley: NIL money + transfer portal = chaos
Eric Gay
California college athletes would be the first to receive payments related to their athletic performance directly from schools. The NCAA, following what’s been laid out in court decisions, has always fought to keep benefits “tethered to education.”
Well, in SB 1401, much of the compensation still would be related to academics. The bill states a noble goal of improving graduation rates for Black athletes in football and men’s and women’s basketball — the only three sports where players currently don’t receive more than 50% of revenues back purely through their scholarships.
Schools would establish a degree completion fund for each athlete, and the contents of the fund — fed annually — would be made available soon after degree completion (within six years). If the athlete does not graduate within six years, he or she will forfeit the fund and it will go back into the athletic budget. Players would have immediate access to a maximum of $25,000 each year, while the rest would build over time.
Eric Gay
California college athletes would be the first to receive payments related to their athletic performance directly from schools. The NCAA, following what’s been laid out in court decisions, has always fought to keep benefits “tethered to education.”
Well, in SB 1401, much of the compensation still would be related to academics. The bill states a noble goal of improving graduation rates for Black athletes in football and men’s and women’s basketball — the only three sports where players currently don’t receive more than 50% of revenues back purely through their scholarships.
Schools would establish a degree completion fund for each athlete, and the contents of the fund — fed annually — would be made available soon after degree completion (within six years). If the athlete does not graduate within six years, he or she will forfeit the fund and it will go back into the athletic budget. Players would have immediate access to a maximum of $25,000 each year, while the rest would build over time.
The amount owed to each athlete would be the half of the sport’s total revenue minus the team’s total student grant-in-aid package divided by the number of players. For instance, each USC football player could make upwards of $200,000 a year.
Think about taking $15 million to $20 million that currently has been used to reinvest in football resources and to fund the rest of the athletic department and transferring it to football players, and it’s easy to see why administrators are getting ready for a fight.
On the other side of the coin — and this point will have been argued by Sen. Steven Bradford, the bill’s author, and National College Players Assn. executive director Ramogi Huma — should it really have been college football and basketball players’ sacrifice all these years to subsidize the training of America’s future Olympians?
There’s a compelling argument that the amateur model — particularly in the last two decades as television revenues have exploded — has led to a displacement of what could have been generational wealth for young Black athletes and their families.
Aaron M. Sprecher
The amount owed to each athlete would be the half of the sport’s total revenue minus the team’s total student grant-in-aid package divided by the number of players. For instance, each USC football player could make upwards of $200,000 a year.
Think about taking $15 million to $20 million that currently has been used to reinvest in football resources and to fund the rest of the athletic department and transferring it to football players, and it’s easy to see why administrators are getting ready for a fight.
On the other side of the coin — and this point will have been argued by Sen. Steven Bradford, the bill’s author, and National College Players Assn. executive director Ramogi Huma — should it really have been college football and basketball players’ sacrifice all these years to subsidize the training of America’s future Olympians?
There’s a compelling argument that the amateur model — particularly in the last two decades as television revenues have exploded — has led to a displacement of what could have been generational wealth for young Black athletes and their families.
The bill establishes a “pay for play” model but stops at designating athletes as employees, stating, “This does not establish evidence of an employment relationship between a student athlete and their institution of higher education.”
Among administrators, this is viewed as clever wording meant to make the bill easier to pass and harder to lobby against. The assumption is that once “pay for play” begins, employment and collective bargaining will quickly follow.
The bill establishes a “pay for play” model but stops at designating athletes as employees, stating, “This does not establish evidence of an employment relationship between a student athlete and their institution of higher education.”
Among administrators, this is viewed as clever wording meant to make the bill easier to pass and harder to lobby against. The assumption is that once “pay for play” begins, employment and collective bargaining will quickly follow.
That is hard to know. It has a long way to go, needing to make it through the Senate and then through a bunch of committees in the Assembly and then the Assembly floor before moving onto the governor’s desk.
The bill has already been amended. The original asked for Title IX protections and mechanisms in place to curb the cutting of non-revenue sports, but those parts have been removed to fully focus on revenue sharing.
Given the massive implications for athletic department budgets as it’s currently written, there has already been discussion about amending the payment structure to give schools the option of distributing only new revenues (increases year over year) to the players.
In that case, say USC football made $10 million more in 2022 than it did in 2021. Then all of the gain would go to feeding the players’ degree completion funds — $117,650 each — but the department would be able to continue to use the same amount from 2021 to fund the rest of its sports and avoid the doomsday scenario.
One thing to factor in is that the Pac-12 will be renegotiating its media rights contracts for 2024, which should bring in significantly more revenue from the conference.
If SB 1401 becomes law, much of that windfall could go to the athletes and quickly make them whole, so to speak, in working toward the bill’s requirement of a 50/50 split.
It seems likely that if the bill passes, it will have something like this new revenues option in place, because it would give the schools a chance to maintain their current level of operations.
Jae C. Hong
That is hard to know. It has a long way to go, needing to make it through the Senate and then through a bunch of committees in the Assembly and then the Assembly floor before moving onto the governor’s desk.
The bill has already been amended. The original asked for Title IX protections and mechanisms in place to curb the cutting of non-revenue sports, but those parts have been removed to fully focus on revenue sharing.
Given the massive implications for athletic department budgets as it’s currently written, there has already been discussion about amending the payment structure to give schools the option of distributing only new revenues (increases year over year) to the players.
In that case, say USC football made $10 million more in 2022 than it did in 2021. Then all of the gain would go to feeding the players’ degree completion funds — $117,650 each — but the department would be able to continue to use the same amount from 2021 to fund the rest of its sports and avoid the doomsday scenario.
One thing to factor in is that the Pac-12 will be renegotiating its media rights contracts for 2024, which should bring in significantly more revenue from the conference.
If SB 1401 becomes law, much of that windfall could go to the athletes and quickly make them whole, so to speak, in working toward the bill’s requirement of a 50/50 split.
It seems likely that if the bill passes, it will have something like this new revenues option in place, because it would give the schools a chance to maintain their current level of operations.
In the era of the one-time transfer waiver, this is a key component of the bill — especially one tied to degree completion.
The wording states that if an athlete transfers to another California institution, the degree completion fund will transfer after enrollment and be managed and funded by the new school.
If an athlete transfers to an institution out of state, the degree completion fund is forfeited.
Greg Beacham
In the era of the one-time transfer waiver, this is a key component of the bill — especially one tied to degree completion.
The wording states that if an athlete transfers to another California institution, the degree completion fund will transfer after enrollment and be managed and funded by the new school.
If an athlete transfers to an institution out of state, the degree completion fund is forfeited.
Huma, the former UCLA linebacker who has become one of the leaders of the college athlete rights movement nationally, is confident that the answer is no.
When the NCAA made threats against California with SB 206, the Department of Justice antitrust division established an NCAA boycott of California schools would be a violation of antitrust laws.
Power Five conference leaders already talking publicly about possibly leaving behind NCAA governance certainly wouldn’t help the association’s cause if it were to threaten California.
Brynn Anderson
Huma, the former UCLA linebacker who has become one of the leaders of the college athlete rights movement nationally, is confident that the answer is no.
When the NCAA made threats against California with SB 206, the Department of Justice antitrust division established an NCAA boycott of California schools would be a violation of antitrust laws.
Power Five conference leaders already talking publicly about possibly leaving behind NCAA governance certainly wouldn’t help the association’s cause if it were to threaten California.
College sports eye gambling money amid safeguard concerns
Carlos Osorio
FILE - Northern Illinois quarterback Rocky Lombardi runs into the end zone for 5-yard touchdown during the second half of of the Mid-American Conference championship NCAA college football game against Kent State on Dec. 4, 2021, in Detroit. The conference is selling the rights to its data and statistics to a company called Genius Sports, which will in turn sell it to sportsbooks. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
Carlos Osorio
FILE - Northern Illinois quarterback Rocky Lombardi runs into the end zone for 5-yard touchdown during the second half of of the Mid-American Conference championship NCAA college football game against Kent State on Dec. 4, 2021, in Detroit. The conference is selling the rights to its data and statistics to a company called Genius Sports, which will in turn sell it to sportsbooks. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
