The last couple of years have focused a light on college athletes and betting on sports. But according to an ESPN analysis, most athletic departments ignore taking charge of reviewing the legal issues that could confront students.
The inquiry scrutinized betting procedures at 24 Power 5 public schools in states with legal online sports wagering by the end of last year. Only four universities developed specific guidelines that alerted student-athletes of the possible legal questions they may face.
These issues go beyond loss of eligibility by the NCAA. Athletes could be charged and convicted of a crime.
ESPN acknowledged that 21 of the 24 universities wouldn’t comment or respond to emails. What information was obtained on these 21 came from records solicited via the Student Press Law Center. As a result, the evaluation could not identify whether the schools met in-person to discuss the ramifications with students.
Without proper dissemination of legality concerns, athletes could be clueless about what they encounter that non-athlete students don’t.
The University of South Dakota appears to be one school that has its act together, said football player Clayton Denker. A member of the student-athlete advisory committee, Denker said the athletic department underlined the seriousness at the start of the school year.
Still, Denker had no evidence that student-athletes could be charged with a felony charge in the state of South Dakota.
“They should lead with that,” Denker told ESPN. “If [athletes] were to understand this affects the rest of my life, not just my sport, then I think they would take it more seriously.”
The NCAA supports educating athletes through individual schools, rather than leaving the job to the association.
“Student-athletes are only thinking about, probably their eligibility, but there are other legal consequences to it that they’re going to fall into,” John Carns, the senior associate athletic director for compliance at the University of Louisville, told ESPN. “And that’s not a great way to start your adult life.”
A criminal conviction for betting would be divulged to possible employers and grad schools, such as law school.
“The penalties are really severe for college athletes,” said Julie Sommer, executive director of The Drake Group, a nonprofit that advocates for reform in college sports. “The breaking of state and federal laws, that’s something that follows them for the rest of their lives.”
Kentucky, New Jersey, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia cite “clear criminal penalties.”
In Tennessee, it’s a misdemeanor. Virginia bars particular bets on “any event in a league in which such a person participates.” Kentucky may charge family members with misdemeanors. Kentucky men’s basketball player Brennan Canada, who also serves as a member of his school’s student-athlete advisory committee, had no idea about the family impact.
Reports also point out that the athletes may use someone else’s account which is still illegal.
Athletes from Iowa State and University of Iowa bet on their own teams.
Authorities charged Kayshon Boutte, a wide receiver for the Patriots, with felony computer fraud and misdemeanor underage gambling while a player at LSU.
NCAA investigations into underage betting have just about doubled each year, from 15 in 2021 to 50 in 2023.
UCF had “no separate and distinct policy—other than following NCAA rules.” Michigan, Kansas State, Ohio State and Arizona did not produce records.
What records were obtained varied across schools. At Rutgers, gambling falls under “social expectations” as bullet points that include drugs, alcohol, social media, hazing and sexual misconduct. Virginia Tech indicated that disciplinary actions may emanate from “local, state, and/or federal prosecution.”
Derek Gwinn, the executive associate athletic director with Virginia Tech, said talks with students touch on high-profile cases, like the ones in Iowa.
“We emphasized the importance because it was so readily available to them now through mobile applications and things like that,” Gwinn told ESPN. “So, we just [say] ignore all the influence, and the commercials that you see constantly, and all the ads in your Twitter feeds, and things like that.”
Virginia Tech ranks as one of four schools with direct contracts with a monitoring company like U.S. Integrity. Others have conference-level contracts.
Monitoring agreements can include education and consulting services. LSU’s agreement with U.S. Integrity in 2023 gave “LSU Athletics staff and athletes education on inappropriate involvement in sports betting.”
Athletes benefit when schools receive direct information, Sommers said. “The more preventative and monitoring measures you take, the greater the chance of success and catching the bad actors, reducing the harms [for] the college athletes and the student population as well the integrity of the game.”
The NCAA’s partnership with EPIC Risk Management brings in former problem gamblers to speak with athletes and staff.
“I do think there’s certainly an interest in growing what that looks like because it has become so prevalent in our society,” Clint Hangebrauck, the NCAA’s managing director of enterprise risk management, told ESPN. “Student-athletes are coming into college, and many have engaged in betting in some form or fashion and so it’s entrenched. It’s an ongoing conversation on how best do we educate. I would imagine it’s going to get more and more robust as we go along.”
