NCAA implements player availability reports for men's, women's basketball tournaments

The NCAA is implementing player availability reports for both the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, the association announced Thursday. The new policy goes into effect for both installments of March Madness starting in 2026.

By publishing availability reports, the NCAA is attempting to further protect athletes from sports betting influences, the NCAA said in a press release. The reports could help decrease pressure and harassment toward athletes regarding their status for games.

Initial reports must be submitted the night before games and again two hours before game time. If schools do not comply or accurately report players’ availabilities, schools will receive penalties, the NCAA said. The NCAA men’s and women’s basketball committees will determine those punishments.

Designations will include “questionable” or “out,” according to the NCAA. If a player is not listed as available, the assumption is they will play.

“After months of thorough discussion and exploration, I applaud the Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Committees for taking such important action,” said NCAA president Charlie Baker in a statement. “Implementing player availability reporting is a major step to increasing student-athlete protections by alleviating pressures for the enhancement of their college experience.”

Sports betting has been a point of emphasis for the NCAA. Baker has been vocal about his desire to ban prop betting on college games, and gambling again took center stage this past week.

NCAA delays new sports betting policy change

After the NCAA announced all three divisions approved legislation to allow athletes to wager on pro sports starting Nov. 1, it announced a delay. Now, the date is Nov. 22 – one day after the close of a membership recession period.

Tuesday’s announcement came after Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported SEC commissioner Greg Sankey sent a memo asking the NCAA to rescind the guidance. Sankey called it a “major step in the wrong direction.”

“We are equally concerned about the vulnerability of our student-athletes. The combination of accessible mobile betting, financial pressuress, and social influence makes the possibility of personal gambling losses — and the potential for exploitation — very real,” Sankey’s letter reads, per Yahoo! Sports. “… It is foreseeable that college athletes, with far fewer resources and far greater outside influence, can be involved in compromising circumstances.”

Thursday’s announcement comes as the college basketball world prepares for tip-off. Monday, Nov. 3, marks the first day of regular season competition across the sport after multiple programs played exhibitions and scrimmages this past month.