A major rule change comes from the NCAA for college athletes and athletic department staff, as they are now able to bet on professional sports.
The Division I Administrative Committee approved the proposal allowing the rule change on Oct. 8. For the proposal to go into effect, Division II and Division III also had to approve it. They did just that on Oct. 22, allowing for the rule change to go into effect on Nov. 22.
"Our action reflects alignment across divisions while maintaining the principles that guide college sports," said Roberta Page, director of athletics at Slippery Rock and chair of the Division II Management Council, per the NCAA. "This change recognizes the realities of today's sports environment without compromising our commitment to protecting the integrity of college competition or the well-being of student-athletes."
The approval for collegiate athletes to bet on professional sports does not change the NCAA's previous rule banning them from betting on college sports. College athletes are also prohibited from sharing information about games with bettors.
The change arrived after caseloads for the NCAA enforcement staff continued to increase in recent years. The staff primarily focused on cases that would have breached the integrity of college sports. With the rule change, the staff can now prioritize college sports betting without having to analyze other cases involving professional athletics.
"The enforcement staff continues to investigate and resolve cases involving sports betting quickly but thoroughly," said Jon Duncan, NCAA vice president of enforcement, per the NCAA. "Enforcement staff are investigating a significant number of cases that are specifically relevant to the NCAA's mission of fair competition, and our focus will remain on those cases and those behaviors that impact the integrity of college sports most directly."
This story is developing and may be updated.
Update: A previous version of this story stated the decision would go into effect Nov. 1. This story was updated on Oct. 28 at 6:29 p.m. to reflect a date postponement made by the NCAA.
Edited by Alan Deutschendorf, George Headley and Pippa Fung.
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Niall Rosenberg is a lead Sports Reporter at the State Press. He has previously worked with sports teams such as the Rockford Rivets of the Northwoods League. He is in his 2nd semester with the State Press with the chance to cover football and other sports.
