• The NCAA is delaying its decision to allow student-athletes to bet on pro sports
• SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey is opposing the new sports betting permittance

The NCAA is postponing its decision to allow student-athletes and athletic department personnel to bet on professional sports.

An NCAA basketball is surrounded by money. The NCAA is delaying its decision to allow student-athletes and college team members to bet on professional sports. (Image: Shutterstock)

Last week, the college sports governing body announced that student-athletes, as well as coaches, team members like trainers and administrative staff, and athletic department officials, would be permitted to bet on professional sports through legal channels. The decision came after the Division I Administrative Committee and Division II and III Management Councils signed off on the proposal.

Currently, all college athletes and the aforementioned team and AD personnel cannot be on any sports, whether it be collegiate or professional. On Tuesday, the NCAA said a rescinding request had been filed by a DI institution.

The delay comes after a major sports gambling scandal rocked the NBA. Federal prosecutors allege that several players and coaches participated in insider betting schemes where players threw games and faked injuries. At least two coaches are accused of selling inside information on players’ injury statuses. 

SEC Commissioner Calls for Rescinding

Greg Sankey is the commissioner of the Southeastern Conference. The SEC lead is among the most influential individuals in college sports.

Sankey is among those who oppose the NCAA allowing student-athletes to bet on pro sports.

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. 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,” Sankey wrote.

Supporters of the change say the current rule has caused an unnecessary monitoring workload for colleges and the NCAA. More than 1,000 universities participate in the NCAA across 24 sports. There are over 540K student-athletes.

Ensuring that none of them are gambling on all sports is an enormous, costly task that involves the use of third-party monitors like IC360, Sportradar, and Genius Sports. Such analytics firms also can’t monitor most offshore sportsbooks, which aren’t regulated.

There’s also the claim that college athletes, by and large, have little ability to influence the outcome of a professional game. The college athlete ban on participating in sports betting is primarily to protect the integrity of college sports.

New Implementation Date 

Unless the NCAA Division I Board of Directors agrees with Sankey and opts to terminate the student-athlete betting permission on pro sports, the NCAA says the new ordinance will now go into effect on Saturday, Nov. 22.

If it does, conferences like Sankey’s SEC and colleges and universities would still possess the right to prohibit their players and team members from betting on professional sports.

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