NCAA and Congress taking a stand against college gambling

by Anthony Castrovince
THE POST

A government report has concluded that gambling produces harmful effects on college sports, athletes, coaches and fans. Can the NCAA and Congress be expected to sit back and watch as gambling on college sports at our nation's universities runs rampant?

Don't bet on it.

For five years, gambling has been a hot topic in collegiate athletics, as the NCAA has made strides to educate players, coaches, university officials and fans about the infraction and its impacts. The NCAA has begun to work closely with the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate to pass legislation that would ban gambling on amateur sports nationwide.

The NCAA opposes all forms of gambling, both legal and illegal. The NCAA adopted this stance in early 1997 when the issue was beginning to become one of national concern.

In 1995, a sports wagering staff was established within the NCAA to impose its standards and educate its players and coaches. William Saum, director of Agent and Gambling Activities for the NCAA, said the staff develops new programs, often targeting a single sport or gender on a regular basis.

"Each year, we produce new videos," he said. "For the first time this year, we did a video for Division I women's basketball. From the education angle, posters are distributed to players and coaches, and we develop a relationship with law enforcement."

Saum said education has been the most notable result of the formation of the sports wagering staff.

"At the least, we've raised awareness," he said. "Our athletes recognize that they're not supposed to gamble. The student affairs offices are now aware that there's illegal wagering going on on-campus."

Jennifer Stiles, director of compliance for Ohio University, is in charge of interpreting the NCAA rules for the school and maintaining the athletic program's ethical responsibilities. She said the NCAA has established specific penalties for gambling.

"The criteria as far as gambling is concerned are very cut and dry," she said. "You are not allowed to bet on any sport in which the NCAA holds a championship. The NCAA passed a formalized penalty structure as to what the penalties would be."

The new bylaws took effect Aug. 1 and include a zero-tolerance policy for student-athletes who manipulate the outcome of a game in order to beat a point spread or bet, legally or illegally, on their own team.

Stiles said having a strict policy makes the laws more effective.

"I think having a set penalty structure outlines the NCAA's position on gambling," she said. "Instead of just saying, 'Don't do it,' we have specific ramifications in place that say, 'If you do it, this is what will happen to you.'"

Last year, the NCAA began to conduct background checks on game officials selected to work in the Division I men's and women's basketball championships. The investigations were established to ensure the individuals had no previous involvement in sports wagering.

The "Don't Bet On It" program, established last year by the NCAA, is the latest in a string of efforts by the NCAA to educate and enforce its position on sports wagering. The program's pamphlet was distributed to 300,000 student-athletes nationwide last year.

Congress began to get involved with the issue early this year, following a 1999 recommendation by the National Gambling Impact Study Commission that all legal gambling on college sports be discontinued.

According to the commission's report, an estimated $80 billion to $380 billion is bet illegally annually. In addition, more than five million Americans were found to suffer from pathological gambling, 15 million were "at risk" for the condition and 1.1 million adolescents, ages 12 to 17, engage in severe pathological gambling each year.

The College Sports Integrity Act and the Amateur Sports Integrity Act, under deliberations in the House of Representatives and Senate, respectively, are Congress' responses to the commission's findings.

Sen. Sam Brownback, R - Kan., who co-sponsored the Amateur Sports Integrity Act, wrote in an e-mail the two pieces of bipartisan legislation are supported by the NCAA, coaches, teachers, athletic directors, commissioners, university presidents, school principals and family groups from across the country.

"Banning legalized gambling on amateur sports serves notice that betting on college games or student-athletes is not only inappropriate, but can also result in significant social costs," he wrote. "The NGISC Report recognized the potential harm of legalized gambling by stating that sports gambling can serve as gateway behavior for adolescent gamblers, and can devastate individuals and careers."

Neither piece of legislation has passed on the House or Senate floors. A representative for Brownback said the Amateur Sports Integrity Act has little chance of passing this year.

Connecticut basketball coach Jim Calhoun is a strong advocate of the proposed bills. He said college gambling adds pressure to the already-hectic lifestyle of the student-athlete.

"A lot of us in amateur sports feel that (student-athletes) playing before people (cause) a lot of pressure," he said. "There's difficulty handling that and the academics. To add (gambling) to them is giving the wrong message. It hurts the integrity of the game."

Calhoun said the subject is not debated on the Senate floor enough and that it should be an issue of major concern.

"I don't like to see people betting against kids," he said. "It's something I've always been against and always will be against."