Buckeye Insider: March 2004 – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/24/2004 12:00:00 AM | General
It is that time of year again. Teams struggle to ward off elimination knowing that every game it plays may be its last. The rules are simple: one team advances and the other goes home, but everyone involved gets swept up in its intoxicating atmosphere.
Welcome to March.
“The Big Dance” is not only a tempting time for basketball fans all over the country to try their hands at betting but for student-athletes and staff as well. Because of this irrepressible temptation to win a “couple bucks,” Athletics Departments must be on their toes.
The NCAA opposes all forms of legal and illegal sports wagering. Sports wagering has the potential to undermine the integrity of sports contests and the intercollegiate athletics community. It demeans the competition and competitors alike by a message that is contrary to the purposes and meaning of “sport.” Sports competition should be appreciated for the inherent benefits related to participation of student-athletes, coaches, and institutions in fair contests, not the amount of money wagered on the outcome of the competition.
For these reasons, the NCAA has specific rules prohibiting athletics department staff members and student-athletes from engaging in gambling activities on intercollegiate and professional athletics.
NCAA Bylaw 10.3 states the following regarding gambling…
Staff members of the athletics department of a member institution and student-athletes shall not knowingly:
a) provide information to individuals involved in organized gambling activities concerning intercollegiate athletics competition;
b) solicit a bet on any intercollegiate team;
c) accept a bet on any team representing the institution; or
d) participate in any gambling activity that involves intercollegiate athletics or professional athletics, through a bookmaker, a parlay card or any other method employed by organized gambling.
A student-athlete who engages in activities designed to influence the outcome of an intercollegiate contest or in an effort to affect win-loss margins (i.e., “point shaving”) or who solicits or accepts a bet or participates in any gambling activity that involves the student-athlete’s institution shall permanently lose all remaining regular-season and postseason eligibility in all sports. The risk is not worth the potential reward.
The following are examples of impermissible gambling activities:
Using the Internet to place a bet on a college or professional sporting event
Accepting or placing bets on a football game
Running or betting in a Final Four pool
Intentionally missing a shot so the team does not cover the point spread
Providing information to a student bookie regarding the health of an injured student-athlete
To the NCAA, a $5 bet with a friend is as impermissible as a $500 bet with a bookie!
